The Phantom Reboot
by Soulfulbard
Summary: A re-imagining based on the original concept. Gadgets instead of ghost powers, and Danny and Sam share a psychic link. Add in a missing Jack and Maddie and Danny and Sam not meeting before the first episode and it's Danny Phantom like you've never seen it before.
1. Bonding the Hard Way Part 1

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 1: Bonding the Hard Way (Part 1)**

The school bell rang outside Casper High School, announcing the start of the first lunch period and the students were quick to take advantage of their one break from classes before dismissal at 3:15.

Some took advantage of it in different ways than others. For example, Danny Fenton and his best friend, Tucker Foley were staked out at the front steps, directly beneath a large poster advertising Casper's Fall Formal.

Tucker, the shorter of the two by a scant inch, was dark skinned with glasses. He watched the comings and goings through the door with an air of blind optimism and a bit too much enthusiasm.

Beside him, Danny, a pale boy with black hair, slouched against the railing, wearing the kind of bored expression people wear when they know the choice is between boredom and depression. He was just there to support his friend, even if he knew nothing would come of this plan, just like every other time that week.

A cute blonde in pink washed jeans and a white T-shirt came out holding a tray in one hand while securing her purse with the other. Tucker leaned toward her. "So the Fall Formal's is this Friday, and-"

"No." She said dismissively and moved on down the stairs.

Tucker just shrugged and switched targets to the Asian girl with pig tails and an ankle length canvas skirt who was coming out at that moment. "Say, you know the Fall Formal-"

"Not a chance." She said with an eye-roll

Undaunted, Tucker squared his shoulders and turned back to the door. A moment later, a dark skinned girl in a yellow blouse and orange skirt came out: Valerie gray, the girl Tucker _really_ wanted to go to the dance with and also the only girl he'd asked three times already. "Hey Val..."

"You're not going to ask me _again_ are you?" She stared him down. For one of the A-listers, she wasn't a shallow powder puff. There was steel in that gaze; not just the ice Paulina or Star mustered.

"Pretty much." Tucker nodded without a hint of self consciousness or even simple shame.

Valerie's glare intensified and Danny wondered how Tucker wasn't catching fire at that point. "Get it through your thick skull, loser: I'm not going out with you! I'm never going out with you! In fact, I'm going with Kwan, so back off!"

Just then, the man in question, the tall, broad shouldered and gratingly handsome Kwan rushed up. "Hey Val! You'll never guess what! Debbie said she'd go to the dance with me! Looks like you're the only one in our group that's dateless, huh?"

Val's hand lashed out faster than any of them could track, grabbed Kwan, who was almost twice her size, by the collar and flung him aside. Her teeth grated as her eyes rested on Tucker once more. "Back off anyway." She snarled before stomping off down the stairs.

Danny looked at Tucker. Tucker looked back and shrugged. "I'm wearing her down. Did you see how long she talked to me this time?" Without missing a beat, or letting Danny comment, her turned back to the doors.

The next girl to come out was the infamous Samantha Manson. Casper High had its share of Goths, but they were mostly sullen, quiet and kept to themselves. Sam was the opposite. She was the blaring air-horn to their quiet dirge, the tornado to their rainclouds. Everyone knew her if only to in as much as they knew to get out of the way when she was on a kick about one of her causes. As a general rule, she was best avoided in all other situations anyway.

Today, she was clearly gearing up for another battle, her combat boots beating a war cadence on the tiled floors of the school, her knuckles white as she gripped her lunch bag. And Tucker Foley was on a collision course.

Danny sat back to watch the show. "I'll miss ya, buddy." He chuckled.

Tucker opened his mouth, but didn't get a single word out.

"Of course not!" Sam exploded at him. "Especially not when I'm the absolute last girl you asked! What's wrong with you?!" She then pointed angrily at Danny. "And you. I am not going to maul your friend for your amusement, so get that smirk off your face."

"Boys." She growled to herself and stomped down the stairs to an empty lunch table.

Bewildered, Tucker turned to Danny. "I... didn't say anything."

Danny had the same look on his face. "Neither did I. What the heck was that about?"

"No idea. But she's right: she's officially the last girl in the school I haven't asked yet. Wanna go eat?"

"You asked all two-hundred and fifty plus girls to the Formal?"

Tucker grinned. "Some of 'em twice." He held up two fingers for emphasis. "You'd better get on the ball, man. Otherwise, you're going to end up dateless."

The two friends descended the stairs and crossed the courtyard, carefully avoiding the still fuming Manson girl and the A-lister table. As the they, Danny sighed. "What's the point, Tuck? Even if by some miracle, I do get a date, we both know that some ghost is just gonna show up in Amity and I'll have to ditch."

"Why not just take the night off from ghost hunting?"

Danny made a rude noise. "Sure, and what, ask Jazz to patrol in my place? We've been over this; my parents left that equipment to me and Jazz before they disappeared and since Jazz doesn't even believe in ghosts, it's up to me to keep protecting the town from the ghosts until they come back."

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two as Tucker struggled with whether he should say anything or not. Jack and Maddie Fenton had been gone over a year now without so much as a word to their kids or proof that they were okay. Jazz had accepted the reality and the siblings' new living situation with the Foleys, but Danny hadn't; not completely. Sometimes he still slept over at Fenton Works.

At length, Tucker decided it wasn't the time. "Yeah, I know. But listen: maybe you'll get lucky and there _won't_ be a ghost attack."

"Since when have I ever been lucky?" Danny scoffed.

"Fenton!" a braying, obnoxious voice carried across the courtyard. Tucker and Danny turned to see Dash Baxter, quarterback and bully extraordinaire, sprinting toward them with murder in his eyes. "Paulina turned me down for the dance and I'm gonna take it out on your hide!"

"Run?" Tucker asked.

"Run." Danny confirmed and they both wheeled around in a flat out stampede for any hiding place they could find.

Danny groaned in frustration. "This isn't fair. Every time something bad happens to him, I have to pay for it? Oh man, could this day get any worse?" The theme from _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_ sounded from Danny's pocket as if on cue.

"Ghost alarm." said Tucker. "You just had to ask, didn't you?"

"I need to keep my mouth shut." Danny said darkly.

DP-DP-DP

High atop the roof of Casper High, a hulking form faded into visibility. He topped seven feet, six inches, all in gleaming titanium accented by his ghostly glow. The metal skull that served as his face grinned, illuminated by the flickering green flames of his hair as he brought a pair of binoculars to his eyes.

Through the red tint of the lens, he scanned the courtyard until a targeting reticule appeared, indicating that he'd finally gotten a visual on his target.

"Excellent." He said in a deep, self-satisfied voice. "I knew there was a reason I decided to expand my hunts into the Human realm. So many new and exotic trophies to take." He grinned as much as a skull could and brought up a bio on the target on his wrist mounted computer. "You will make an excellent addition to my collection, Samantha Manson."

DP-DP-DP

**Opening Titles**

_Danny Fenton always thought his parents were crackpot and conspiracy theorists. Until one day, they disappeared, leaving behind only the password to open their secret vault of anti-ghost technology and proof that their home, the town of Amity Park, was under siege from a dimension called The Ghost Zone._

_Now, Danny has taken up their mantle as the secret protector of Amity Park. With the help of his friends, Sam and Tucker as well as his parent's cache of weapons and technology, he works to ensure that this home and the world at large are safe as the one and only: Danny Phantom!_

DP-DP-DP

"Fenton! Where did you go? I owe you a pounding!" Dash ran past a row of hedges looking around for his favorite punching bag. He searched the entire area for a minute, including behind the hedges before continuing on, still hunting for another hapless nerd to punch.

Once he was gone, two crouched figures faded into view behind the hedge. Both let out relieved sighs.

Danny patted the buckle of this bright, yellow belt, a gold, concave disc with a dial encircling it and buttons around the rim. "The Fenton Ghost Battlin' Belt: not just good for ghost battlin'." He said fondly.

Tucker peeked over the bush to make sure Dash was gone. "I seriously need to figure out where your parents got a source of ecto-energy so I can make one of those for myself. Imagine a life of no wedgies ever again!"

"Not a toy, Tuck." Danny admonished.

"Oh yeah, it's not a toy when I don't want to get kicked to crud, but when you want to sneak into the girls' locker room..."

"For the last time, I was chasing the Box Ghost!" Danny defended. "Now I've gotta go see what set off the ghost alarm. Will you be okay here?"

"Hey, it's not me Dash wants to pound."

As he stood, Danny snickered. "Yeah, it's Valerie that wants to pound you." Before Tucker could defend himself, he turned the dial on the belt. "We're go for ghosts."

The buckle lit up with a flare of green energy and the front and back split from each other, revealing minute holes from which a black and silver ooze with a ghostly glow issued. It flowed out over Danny, covering him from head to toe in a shimmer blob before shifting into a black jumpsuit with silver accents, silver boots, and silver gloves. His head was covered by a close fitting cowl that left his face exposed, lust like his parents' jumpsuits did. The belt itself turned silver as well as a DP logo on the buckle.

Danny pulled a pair of silver goggles with red lenses from a pocket obscured by the jumpsuit and put them on, completing his transformation into his alter ego: Danny Phantom.

With a nod to Tucker, he touched a button in his belt and flew off toward the source of the ghost alarm.

DP-DP-DP

Sam Manson sat at her table and tried to distract herself with homework. For once, it was homework she liked; creative writing, but even the idea of getting good grades for dark poetry she was going to write anyway wasn't enough to keep her mind off the problem creeping in the back of her mind.

Did Foley and Fenton notice?

She had gotten very, very good at hiding it over the years, but the day had just been so stressful. Paulina had been doing hit and runs all week mocking her for not having anyone to go to the dance with, accurately predicting that even the guys that thought she was attractive were too intimidated to approach her; then the biology teacher announced that they would start frog discretion in two weeks, something she vehemently disagreed with on many levels; and finally, she and her mother had another fight that morning. It was about the dance again. Pamela Manson insisted that her daughter was going, date or no date, and had gone as far as buying her a dress. It was, admittedly a nice dress, but it was the principle of the thing.

And so, when Foley went to asked her, knowing full well that she was the last girl he hadn't asked, it was a match on a powder keg.

Her fingers crumpled the paper she'd been writing on tightly, tearing ti from the notebook. That stupid dance! Why was it the _only_ thing people could talk about that week? There were far more important things to discuss, like stopping the upcoming slaughter of innocent frogs, but nobody cared about that. All they cared about was who was going with who and mocking who wasn't going with who.

She growled and tossed the paper aside, trying to will herself to calm down. It hadn't been the boys' fault, really. She'd avoided Foley and his increasingly desperate attempts to get a date, any date, all week, so it wasn't surprising that she was the last one asked. And as for Fenton, she only had herself to blame because if she were being honest, she _did_ resort to violence pretty often. Thickheads like Dash and Kwan didn't respond to anything less than high velocity contact with a combat boot.

It occurred to her to find them and apologize, but she quickly dismissed that. Cutting down on human contact was important, because not doing so was often unpleasant. Besides, maybe they hadn't noticed what really happened up there on the stairs, and might only do so if she brought attention to it.

Besides, she had a rep to maintain.

_Malevolence._

Sam's eyes widened.

_Avarice. Pride. Eagerness. Anticipation._

And they were all directed toward... her.

Sam looked up, following invisible lines that led up and up toward the roof of the school. Something or someone huge had just leapt off it. But they didn't fall. Instead, they seemed to float downward. Downward toward her.

Sunlight streaming from behind threw the thing into silhouette, but gleamed off metallic skin and the barrel of a wrist mounted gun. A gun which, like everything else; those dark thoughts, the things' descent—was aimed directly at her.

Panic froze her for a split second, as the monstrous creature landed across the table from her, skull face leering at her, green hair blazing. All around, the other students started screaming. And in the next split second, Sam's fight or flight kicked in. As usual, she picked 'fight'.

Fighting down a scream,s he instead put all that energy into grabbing the edge of the table and hauling upward on it as she stood up. The table flipped, right into the raised arm of the monster in front of her, sending the shot it intended for her into the air.

There was a squawk, and a robin fell from the sky, wings bound by a ring of green energy. Sam blinked at it, then remembered there were more important things to worry about. She took a step back, but forgot the bench was there, ending up sprawled on her back.

A concussive blast cracked across the courtyard as the table exploded into splinters and kindling.

The metallic creature held a smoking blaster pistol in its off hand. "You actually fought back." He said with a hint of both surprise and delight. "I now I know I'm really going to enjoy hunting you, Samantha Manson."

Sam goggled. How did this thing know her name? And more importantly, did it just say it was hunting her? As if she didn't detest hunting to start with.

"And I'm going to enjoy punting your sorry butt back to the Ghost Zone!"

Something black and silver flashed over Sam's head and slammed into the hunter, sending him stumbling back. Using the energy of the impact, that 'something' executed a backward flip to land on the bench that Sam had been sitting on, its back to her.

"Who are you?" The hunter asked rubbing at the dent the sudden attack left in his armor with a thumb.

The black and silver being grunted in annoyance. "Wait. You know her name and not mine? Come on, dude, I've only been fighting ghost in this town for like a whole year."

The hunter shrugged.

"Danny Phantom? The Phantom of Amity Park?"

"Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell."

Danny Phantom sighed dejectedly. "Inviso Bill?"

The hunter's eyes flickered with memory. "_You're_ Inviso Bill? Wow. I thought you've be taller. But anyway, I'm not here for you... yet. Now step aside while I, Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter captures his latest and most unique prize to date: the human whelp, Samantha Manson."

"Is... he hitting on me?" Sam asked, quirking an eyebrow at Skulker's choice of words.

"What?" Skulker bellowed. "Ugh! I already have a girlfriend. I'm here for your pelt."

"Was the 'ugh' really necessary?" Sam asked.

Danny folded his arms. "I'm too busy getting the heebie jeebies from the 'pelt' part. That's excessively wrong."

"I don't care what you think!" Skulker shouted. "I'm just here for her. And if I have to go through you..." A huge cannon emerged from his shoulder and tracked in on Danny. "That just makes it more fun."

The green blast from the cannon disintegrated the bench, but by that time, Danny was already flying backward. Pausing only to grab Sam by the back of her shirt, he then pours all speed into hasty retreat. "Hold that thought, Skulkie. I'll be right back.

Sam gagged as the way he was carrying her cut off her airflow and after a puzzled second, he swung them both around and arranged her, bridal style, in his arms.

"You're running away?" She croaked, rubbing her throat as she looked over his shoulder at Skulker in hot pursuit.

"'Thank you so much for rescuing me Phantom. How can I ever repay you for saving my life?' Ya know, just once I'd like to hear that. Just once! Well at least you didn't scream."

She glared at him. "Not that kind of girl, ghost boy." Despite the glare, she blushed just a bit.

Danny eyes widened. Maybe his little verbal play about how he'd like at least one pretty girl suggested something, but that didn't warrant blushing. Now if she'd known the mental image he'd gotten... His train of thought was cut off by a green explosion taking out a tree on his right.

"We gotta get you someplace safe until we figure out what that metal gorilla wants with you." He said, brushing all other thoughts aside. He turned and, still holding Sam tightly with one arm, cocked the other and fired off a flare of green energy of his own. The suddenness of he move caught Skulker off guard and the blast hit him squarely in the face, sending him reeling back, head over heels.

Using Skulker's temporary loss of line of sight, Danny hit another switch on the Fenton Ghost Battlin' Belt and he and Sam faded from the visible spectrum. He ignored Sam's gasp and made a bee-line for the school.

"You really are the 'Inviso Bill' the local news can't shut up about." Sam said in shock. "But wait, why is a ghost saving a human girl like me? Shouldn't you be haunting my locker or possessing me with evil intentions instead?"

"Look." Danny said dryly. "My name is Danny. Danny Phantom, _not_ Inviso Bill. And almost as important, I'm not a ghost."

"Could have fooled me with the flying, the invisibility and the _ghost _rays." Sam said, turning her head away from him because they were _way_ too close be facing one another.

"Look, it's complicated." Danny also tried to turn his head at the same time, deciding that he shouldn't be close enough to a strange girl to smell her toothpaste. Both of them blushed when he thought that. To get his mind off it, he asked, "Why are you being so difficult? It's like talking to a—"

"Wall!" Sam suddenly said.

"Yeah! A brick wall."

"No, that school's brick wall! We're going to run into it!" she pointed to the rapidly closing edifice.

"Oh. Right." Danny shifted him in his grasp and hit another button. A static tingling ran over their bodies and suddenly,t he wind that have been blowing against them disappeared. Satisfied, Danny tried to shift her back into the more comfortable bridal carry, but ended up clonking their heads together just as the passed through the wall.

"Ow!" They said in stereo. They emerged in the school's dusty, disused store room, floating invisible and intangible off the floor.

Then there came an electrical sizzle and all three of those things stopped being true. Suddenly visible, all too solid and back in the purview of gravity, they crashed to the floor with Sam on top of Danny. For good measure, their heads cracked together again and for a few seconds, they were senseless.

Danny groaned and rubbed his forehead. "What the heck happened?" It was at that moment that he noticed a distinct lack of silver glove covering the hand rubbing his face. And beyond it were the violet eyes of Samantha Manson staring at him in confusion.

"Fenton?!" She asked, pushing herself off him to sit hard against the wall they just flew through. "You're Inviso Bill?"

"Phantom! Danny Phantom!" He retorted absently as he looked down at the belt. "Oh man, I must have forgotten to set it to recharge this morning. Practice, flying to school, then flight, invisibility and going intangible for two must have tapped it out."

Sam remained quiet, just watching until he remembered she was still there.

Anxiety. Fear. Shame.

The first two were directed at her. The last at himself. He'd accidentally showed her something he didn't want anyone to know about; something that gave her very real power over him if she chose to take it.

Contrary to popular belief in Casper High, however, Sam Manson wasn't cruel. Just the opposite, in fact. Her activism and vegetarian lifestyle wasn't about self aggrandizing, but genuine concern and compassion for her fellow creatures. And at the moment, she could tell there wasn't a creature in Amity Park in need of more compassion than Daniel Fenton.

"Look." She started out carefully. She did have that rep to uphold, after all, "I'll make you a deal: you saved me from that metal guy, so I won't tell anyone about this, okay?"

Danny gave her a wary look, as if she was going to bite him, then his expression turned worried. "Actually not okay."

"Say what?"

"Not that I don't trust you to keep my secret." He was lying, she could tell, but it wasn't malicious, "But I haven't held up my end yet. Skulker, whoever he is, is still after you. I wasn't kidding when I said I've got to get you somewhere safe until we figure this out."

Sam tried to hide the surprised look on her face. At this point though, she really had no right to be surprised. What she'd known of Danny Fenton, that he was a lazy, shiftless underachiever who slept through most of his classes, was late to the rest, and would never amount to anything, went out the window the moment she found out his secret.

Not that she'd ever been close enough to tell before, but there was a nobility and an earnestness to him she never expected. She wasn't sure she should take advantage of that, even to save her own... pelt.

"But... isn't your belt broken now?"

Danny dug into his pocket and came up with a green ear bud. "Just a low battery. Besides my parents left me a lot more than just the belt. Let's just hope my friend is listening and can help us out with it."

He tapped the ear bud, a modification to his parents' original Fenton Phones that Tucker had designed. "Hey, Tuck, you there?"

"Foley's in on this too?" Sam stood up and tried to dust off her skirt and top as best she could. "Seriously?"

Danny shrugged and waited for a reply. He wasn't disappointed.

"Hey Danny. Looks like we've got a new ghost for the files." Tucker's voice came through.

"Yeah. Skulker." said Danny. "Is he still out there?"

There was a pause as Tucker checked. "Nope. Ghost scanner is all clear."

"Good. Listen, we've got a problem. Skulker's after..." He looked at Sam. Unless he was in his total lech mode, which made him impervious to fear, shame and common sense, Tucker was almost as scared of Sam as he was Dash. "... a student here. We've got to get her to a safe place until we can get rid of him."

"Someplace with a ghost shield?" Tucker guessed. As much as he hated his friend lingering around the place, it did serve as the perfect headquarters for their extracurricular activities.

"Exactly." Danny said. "Can you have the Specter Cycle and the ASK out front as soon as possible? We're going to need to cut the rest of school today."

"You got it, buddy. Over and out." Tucker said cheerfully.

DP-DP-DP

**A/N** – Greetings! For those of you waiting for updates on Mayhem in Mexico City or X-men: REset, rest assured that I'm working on them. I just entered the Danny Phandom and just had a bolt from the blue for this one. Credit for inspiration here goes to Silver Sheryl and her story 'Danny Phantom's Original Concept'.

I'm not being quite as loyal to the original though; Danny still has his powers (of a sort), there's no Spooky, but the psychic link will be coming up shortly.

This is all a massive, experimental AU and I still haven't seen the whole series, so please forgive any incongruities. But then again, it's an AU, so changes are to be expected.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and I'd appreciate hearing form you if you do. And if you like this fic, please check out my original superhero series, The Descendants (linked in my profile)

**Next Episode: Bonding the Hard Way (Part 2) - **After another clash with the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, the not quite minted trio holes up in Fenton Works. The boys learn Sam's secret, and form a plan that Sam is _not_ happy about.


	2. Bonding the Hard Way Part 2

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 1: Bonding the Hard Way (Part 2)**

Students from the first lunch period stampeded through the halls of Casper High, screaming about ghosts and metal monsters and explosions. Naturally, this encouraged their peers still in class to take up their panic and join them in a mad dash through the halls, searching for a safe place to hide, or at least a way out.

The PA crackled once before the voice of the vice principal and language arts teacher, Mr. Lancer spoke. "Attention students! While fleeing in terror is completely understandable, the administration would like to remind you that any classes skipped without properly signing out in the office will still count as unexcused."

Oddly enough, that bought a strange kind of order to the chaos. Everyone was still screaming in terror, but they were now all screaming in terror on the way to the office. Hey broke down the door and pile din, jamming not only the office, but the hall in front of it in a knot of terrified, shrieking madness.

On the other side of the school, Danny and Sam poked their heads out of the supply room door and found the hall empty.

"Say what you will about Tuck, but he knows his way around electronics." Danny laughed as he tried to envision Lancer's face when he heard his own voice practically order the student body to trample him.

Sam laughed too, in spite of herself, but once they were out in the deserted hall, she planted her fists on her hips. "Alright, so what now? What if that crazy ghost is just waiting outside?"

As if in answer, the doors at the end of the hall were thrown open and Tucker ran in, lugging both his backpack and Danny's. "Bike's parked outside guys." He said by way of greeting. Busy rummaging through Danny's pack, he didn't even bother to look up.

"Now, from what I overheard, this Skulker is a hunter. So it's not a long shot that he might have camouflage, even a way of not getting caught by the ghost alarm, so I brought some..." As he pulled what looked like a chrome and green flashlight from the pack, he finally looked up and his eyes grew ten times their normal size behind his glasses.

"D-Danny. That's Sam Manson." He said as if he was warning the other boy that there was a poisonous spider on his shoulder. His eyes darted around, mapping out exits. "Why didn't you tell me the person you were helping was Sam Manson!?"

Sam folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, I rarely bite."

"Oh yeah?" Tucker, challenged, panic overriding self preservation, "Back in grade school, Danny span me too fast on the merry-go-round and I threw up in your lunch box. You bit me _and_ knocked me off the monkey bars for that!"

The revelation and memory flooded back to her and Sam chuckled and grinned sheepishly. "Who would have thought my life would even up depending on the one person I actually bit?"

Danny raised a hand. "Uh, you bit me too. Remember, third grade art?"

She didn't but he did and she couldn't help be feel a little embarrassed. "You shouldn't have stolen my blue paint." She defended lamely.

"Man, I signed up to kick ghost butt, not get bitten." Tucker warned.

"She's not going to bite you!" Danny said exasperated. "I'm pretty sure she's grown out of that." But when he glanced at her, she was making it a point to smile at both of them, showing teeth. Lots of them. "... Fairly sure."

Tucker tossed the flashlight and bag to Danny. "I'm outta here." He would have run for it, but Sam caught him by the collar, turning him around.

"Relax, I'm a vegetarian now." She said. "And besides, from the sound of it, I really do need your help. Truce?" She held out a hand.

There was a long moment as Tucker considered his options. On the one hand, this was Sam Manson, the scariest girl in Casper High and someone he didn't owe anything to. But on the other, it wasn't her fault Skulker was after her and what kind of guy would he be if he just tossed her to the wolves? Really, the question answered itself, so he took her hand and shook it. "Truce."

"Took you long enough." Danny muttered. "So what did you bring us?"

Now that he wasn't going to get bitten and the subject was technology, Tucker felt in his element. The same cocky grin he got when asking girls out reappeared. "Party favors." He pointed to the flashlight. "The ecto-saber there, plus the Fenton Grappler, a couple of ecto-guns, and of course, the Fenton Thermos."

He pulled each out to show them in turn and got an incredulous look from Sam when the last turned out to be an actual thermos covered in circuits diagrams with a green, glowing rim.

"The Fenton... Thermos? Really? Are ghosts allergic to hot soup or something?" The two friends looked to one another, and by unspoken agreements decided it was too complicated to explain to her at the moment. "Hey!" Sam shouted, offended. "I'm right here, ya know?"

"Huh?" Both boys asked at once. Sam face palmed. Twice in one day.

Danny blinked once, then turned back to the thermos. "I doubt that'll be much use. Skulker is too strong to just go without a fight. We need to weaken him and I can't do that and keep hm from getting Sam at the same time. Let's just focus on getting back to Fenton Works for now."

The others agreed and they headed out the door Tucker came in through. There, are the end of the sidewalk, was Danny's trust red motorbike with a rickety sidecar attached.

"That's the Specter Cycle?" Sam asked. "I've seen you ride that thing to school. I was kind of expecting some kind of flashy super-bike or something."

"And you _weren't_ expecting _this_!" Skulker's voice sounded from the thin air about fifteen yards ahead of them and too the right. A green, glowing net appeared, already in flight, and landed on Sam, trapping her. Laughing victoriously, Skulker faded into view. Only then did the ghost alarm go off.

"Called it." said Tucker.

Skulker ignored him. "Ha! That was a foolish move, whelp: leaving the protection of Inviso Bill and trying to blend in with these two pathetic humans? I thought you were smarter than that."

Looking from the net draped over her to Danny, Sam scowled. "So did I, actually."

It took a beat for Danny to realize that was his cue. "Oh yeah." He twisted a ring on the ecto-saber and pressed the button. A sword of glowing, green light formed, humming gently when it moved through the air. Almost casually, he swung it at the net. Sam shrieked and closed her eyes tightly as the blade came far too close for comfort. But when her eyes opened again, the net came apart into pieces.

Both she and Skulker was stunned by this development.

"How did..." Skulker started then grunted in frustration. "Never mind, I've got other ways of catching my prey." A gun with multiple rotating barrels extended out of his gauntlet and began to spin up to speed before firing bolts of green energy.

Danny stepped up, swung the ecto-saber and intercepted each shot with the blade, deflecting them all around the front entrance to the school. What he didn't notice was that on his back stroke, he was once again coming dangerously close to hitting Sam, who ducked and dodged in frenzied terror.

Finally, Skulker's gun clicked on empty and he snarled. "I don't know who you are, whelp, but your luck can't hold out all day." With that, he deployed a pair of shoulder mounted cannons that started to charge..

"Bring it." Danny flourished the ecto-saber, once again almost hitting Sam.

Sam finally had enough. "Stop it! You've come way closer to killing me than he has with that thing!" To her surprise, Danny just laughed. "What's so funny?" she asked dangerously.

"It's a _ghost_ weapon, Sam." he explained. "It can't hurt you, it just passes right through." He demonstrated by poking the blade into her exposed midriff. When nothing happened, he did it again, chuckled, then started drawing patterns with the glowing blade.

Looking behind him, Sam saw Skulker's first cannon fire. "Give me that!" She said, exasperated. Snatching the blade out of his hand, she stepped forward, swung the weapon on guard, and deflected the blast right back into Skulker's midsection. The ghost hunter was knocked on his back, sending his second shot straight up.

The scintillating sphere of power traveled up to its zenith, then plunged straight down, exploding on impact with Skulker's arm. His wrist-mounted computer went one direction and Skulker went the other, slamming into a tree so hard that the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter was knocked senseless.

Danny looked from Skulker to a very smug looking Sam. She raised and eyebrow at him. "Beginner's luck." He muttered before grabbing her wrist. "Come on, we've got to get out of here before he wakes up!"

They ran for the bike, making it in plenty of time. Danny handed Sam his helmet and hopped astride the bike, only to find that Tucker was not in the side car. Instead, he was across the street, fishing something that was still smoking out of a hedgerow.

"What are you doing?" He called.

Tucker held Skulker's computer aloft and ran back to his waiting friend. "This might come in handy. Get it? Handy? It got blasted off his hand?" Both Danny and Sam groaned.

With Sam riding behind Danny and Tucker in the sidecar, they sped off toward Fenton Works.

As they disappeared around a corner, Skulker dragged himself up, grimacing at the smoldering dent I his chest and the mess of severed and burnt wires hanging out of his arm. He glared after the retreating team. "Run while you can, whelp. You're only making the hunt that much more enjoyable."

Something cracked above him and a dead branch landed directly on his head, causing him to moan in pain.

DP-DP-DP

There was no missing or mistaking Fenton Works. On a row of perfectly normal brownstones, there was only one with a neon sign out front and a massive metal dome on top, sprouting all manner of ghost detection apparatus. The sign hadn't been on in almost two years, but that didn't make the place one bit less conspicuous.

Danny pulled his bike up as close to the building as he could and everyone dismounted.

"Wow. I remember this place." Sam said with a voice filled with nostalgia. "Every Halloween, your dad would pay cold, hard cash as a bounty to any kid that bought him any of their candy haul that had fudge in it."

"Don't remind me." Danny said with heavy lidded eyes as his mind conjured images of his father in his hunter orange jump suit sitting in a pile of candy, shouting 'yippee!' and throwing it up in the air to let it pelt down on his head like Scrooge McDuck. Sam snorted and Danny once again wondered what she kept laughing or blushing, or getting mad at.

He let them in, and headed to the kitchen where he kept a cooler full of snacks for when he and Tucker we working on his ghost gear, or when he snuck over there to sleep on bad nights.

The mid levels of the house were normal enough; normal kitchen, normal dining room,normal living room. Well, the living room was normal once. Now, it was littered with the wreckage of rebuilt and cannibalized ghost gadgets.

Sam looked around with interest, picking up what looked like a metallic label maker bearing the legend 'Fenton Ghost Peeler' and examining it. At the same time, Tucker cleared space on the couch and the surrounding floor for everyone to sit before going over to rummage in a pile of stuff on the coffee table.

"If you're going to be a temporary member of Team Phantom," He said, pulling some objects of interest free of the debris, "You're going to need some gear of your own."

"I'm pretty good with the laser sword." Sam pointed out.

"But Skulker's good with lots of guns to let himself stay way out of range of an ecto-saber." Tucker pointed out. "Too bad we don't have a portable power source light enough for a hand-held ghost shield. Speaking of which; hit that button on the wall over there."

Sam wandered over to the wall and found a full on control panel. Luckily, there was one button clearly labeled 'Ghost Shield'. When she pressed it, the sunlight streaming in through the windows tinted green and the whole house was filled with a low, steady hum.

"You are now completely safe from Skulker... as long as you never leave and the power doesn't go out." Tucker declared.

"Thanks." Sam said dryly.

"And for all other times, we've got you covered." he continued, handing her a belt with a mechanical buckle and a pair of green and black ear mounted transceivers."

Sam regarded them for a moment, then nodded with approval. "I like the earpieces at least. They could pass as techno-goth earrings. The belt's kind of tacky though."

"That belt might save your life." Tucker said sagely, taking a seat on the couch. "That's the Specter Deflector. It shocks and weakens any ghost that touches you _and_ blocks some of their powers. The other two are Fenton Phones. They're supposed to filter out ghost noise, but we just us 'em to keep in touch."

"And listen to our MP3 players." Danny emerged from the kitchen with cans of soda and bags of chips in his arms. He took a seat on the floor between the coffee table and the couch, leaving the remainder of the couch to Sam.

She took her seat and looked around, then down at the devices Tucker just gave her. With a bit of hesitance, she put the Fenton Phones in. "You guys really have this whole 'real life Ghostbusters' thing going on here, don't you? How long have you been doing this while half the school just thought you were losers?"

"Only half?" Tucker asked.

"I was trying to be nice." Sam said.

"We've been at this over a year. Since the summer before Freshman year." said Danny, looking suddenly glum.

Sam frowned at him. She didn't like seeing him like that, and yet, she wasn't exactly the person known for cheering others up. "I don't see why you're ashamed of that. It think it's really cool."

_Hope. Pride. Quickly crushed by shame._

She recoiled from the feeling. "Danny? What's wrong?"

He looked up from the bag of chips he was trying to open. "Do you remember any ghosts around Amity Park until a year ago? As in actual attacks?" He waited for her to shake her head. "Right. Well my parents did this for _years_ and no one noticed. Then they disappear and I'm trying my best and by now, we're not even all that surprised there's a ghost hunting my classmates."

"Let's focus on that." Tucker cut in, not liking to see his friend in such a state. "We still need to figure out what Skulker wanted with you." He pulled out the computer salvaged from Skulker and started to splice his PDA into it.

Th distraction of the mission seemed to drag Danny out of his funk. "He kept calling you stuff like 'exotic' and 'unique'. But ghost generally don't see humans in general as anything special... Any idea what's so different about you, Sam?"

Her gaze dropped to the floor. She knew their secret, after all, so it was only fair. Plus after the whole 'ghost hunting' thing, hers wasn't likely to be met with much skepticism or freaking out. This didn't make it easy to say. "Well, let's see... I'm an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian, I can hear peoples' thoughts, and I'm a goth."

Both boys froze. "What was that?" Danny asked.

"I'm a goth?" She asked innocently.

"No... before that."

"I'm an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian?"

"No." said Danny. "The part in the middle."

Sam forced a small laugh. "now don't go freaking out over it." She was looking at Tucker, "It's not like I can go into your mind and rummage around in there. It's just that when I'm near someone, I pick up things: thoughts, mental images, sometimes dreams—whatever's right on the surface."

She fidgeted self-consciously. "It's why I don't hang out with anyone at school: it's not fun getting snippets of what people are really thinking all the time." She watched the two boys carefully as they digested this information. Well, Danny digested it, Tucker distracted himself by decoding Skulker's computer.

"That does explain a lot of the weird reactions you had all day." Danny said. "Um... sorry for any of the things I thought that you didn't like?"

"Not like you can control it." Sam relaxed a little because she could tell he was honestly concerned that his private thoughts might have hurt her feelings. "And I didn't pick up anything really bad." They shared a small smile.

"Except Skulker." interrupted Tucker, holding up his PDA. "It looks like your mind reading is kind of like brain sonar. Instead of just broadcasting brainwaves like everyone else, your brain produces a unique carrier wave that basically pings off other people's brains and brings information back to you."

"How could you know all that already?" asked Sam, staring in confusion.

"Because Skulker does. That carrier wave is how he's been tracking you." He tapped furiously on his PDA. "Luckily..."

Sam's eyes widened. "Hey! Your brains both suddenly shut up!"

Tucker span his PDA on his finger, then blew on it like he was a gunslinger with his weapon. "Not a problem. I just added some code to your Fenton Phones to block your signal, coming and going. As long as you're wearing them, Skulker can't track you and you don't have to worry about hearing stray thoughts."

A long, awkward moment passed as Sam just stared into space, hearing, for the first time since her powers appeared at the end of eighth grade, nothing but her own thoughts. The two boys glanced at each other , then leaned forward, concerned.

"Sam?" Danny ventured.

It was as if a switch was pulled. Sam snapped out of her own little world and suddenly, she'd wrapped both of them in a tight hug that pulled Tucker clear off the couch. "You guys have no idea what this means to me! Thank you so much!" There were tears in her eyes, which would have made them both uncomfortable if she wasn't cutting off their oxygen.

"Sam." Tucker rasped. "C-c-can't breathe."

"Oh!" Sam let them both go and they landed on the floor, Tucker on top of Danny. "Sorry. It's just that... well I guess you had to go through it to understand.

They untangled themselves and Tucker sat on his heels, rubbing this throat. "Now I kinda wish I'd been bitten instead." He chuckled. "But you're welcome."

"So, I guess the crisis is averted then." Sam said, throwing herself down on the couch and stretching languidly. She'd never felt so free in her life.

Tucker picked up his PDA from where it had landed under the couch. "Not exactly. Skulker can't track you, but he doesn't really need to. He's got detailed files here about where you live, where you hang out; the whole nine yards. He can just stake out the places you frequent and attack you there."

"But Tuck," Danny piped up, "We have his files now. He doesn't know this."

"Danny, do you honestly think he's not smart enough to make a back-up?"

DP-DP-DP

Skulker grinned cruelly as he fitted his replacement wrist-computer into place. "You think you're smart, don't you, whelp?" He muttered to himself. "Well I am always prepared. And as soon as I download my back-ups..."

The computer beeps and displayed a message. 'Download complete'.

"Ha! You will be as good as mine."

Another beep. Another message: 'Last back-up performed January 23, 2009.'

Skulker just stared at the screen for a minute. That was long, long before he'd received his intel on the Manson girl. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

DP-DP-DP

"So Skulker will definitely still be on your trail." Danny said with a frown. "That means you're still stuck with us for a while, Sam. At least until he's safely back in the Ghost Zone."

Sam folded her arms and stared at the ceiling. "So what's the plan to get rid of him?"

"It won't be easy." Danny admitted. "I need to wait for my belt to recharge to have any hope against him. And judging by how things went earlier, we'll need way more advantages than that."

Tucker suddenly brightened. "Like if we could lure _him_ into a trap?"

"That doesn't sound doable." Sam said. "If he can hide from your ghost radar thing and turn invisible, we won't even see him until he's ready to attack."

"Here me out on this, guys:" Tucker tapped on his PDA some more. "Skulker can't track Sam with her brainwaves anymore, so he's going to have to follow his intel, which we have. If we do things different from Sam's schedule, he won't be able to find her. That means going to your classes a different way and staying out of your house as much as possible."

"I'm liking the second half of that plan." Sam smiled. Her house was where her parents were, and having a break from them was always welcome.

"Skulker also doesn't know that Danny is also Danny Phantom." Tucker continued. "So if he sticks to you like glue the whole time, pretty much any attack Skulker launches will be like our own floating ambush."

"Sticks to me like glue?" Sam asked with a glance in Danny's direction. She'd been a loner for so long, she didn't know how she felt about suddenly growing a best friend, even a fake one that was actually a bodyguard. Danny looked back and she didn't need to read his mind to see that the look she was giving him made him nervous.

Oblivious to all this, Tucker continued. "It's actually not that hard. Turns out you two have most of your classes together anyway. Who knew?"

Danny rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. This was odd, someone being forced to hang out with him. The last time that happened was when his sister, Jazz was forced to take him trick-or-treating. "So," He failed to meet Sam's eyes, "I guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other over the next couple of days."

Sitting up, Sam took pity on him and offered a small, friendly smile. "I guess it won't be so bad. If I'm going to start having friends again, I could do worse than the towns' secret superhero and his sidekick."

"Please, I'm his Mission Control." Tucker corrected. "But good, we're all set then. We all ride to school together, you two go to class together, and in the afternoon, we all hang out together. Total bodyguard coverage. Now we just have to buy your tickets for the dance and-"

"What?!" The pair exclaimed as one.

"We talked about this, Tuck." Danny admonished.

"And who said I even _wanted_ to go to the stupid dance?" Sam added.

Tucker held up his hand defensively. " Sorry guys, but during Skulker's attack, I ended up hiding under a table next to Val and managed to get her to agree to go with me. Since I'm going to be there, you two should be there too so Team Phantom can be at full strength. Besides, ghosts are more prone to attack large concentrations of emotional energy and the dance is going to be boiling in it."

After some deliberation, Danny sighed. "He's actually right, Sam. If Skulker doesn't attack between now and Friday, the dance will be the most likely time for him to and we can stack the deck in our favor knowing that." He fidgeted nervously from his seat on the floor. "So, just on the assumption that it might be your chance to get rid of the ghost that's hunting you... wanna go to the dance with me?"

Sam couldn't help to be impressed. Danny actually managed to affect a hopeful smile as if he was asking a girl he would actually like to go with. At the same time, she just felt bad. If she was being honest with herself, she really would have liked to have been asked to the dance (barring being Tucker's bottom-of the barrel choice), and her mother had actually gotten her a dress she liked, reasoning that Sam going was more important than forcing Sam into the typical girly dresses she normally picked out.

But it felt wrong to go with someone who was only asking out of some hero complex. If she wasn't in danger of being captured and skinned by an extra-dimensional entity, she would be staying home Friday to be sure. Having the two boys pretend to be her friends was one thing, making Danny pretend to be her date was another.

At that point, she realized she was taking way too long to answer. Danny and Tucker were staring at her. Danny in particular had an odd look on his face. No doubt it was a hit to his confidence that a girl might still say no to going to the dance with him even under pain of death and taxidermy.

It didn't change the fact that it wasn't _right_. She had to say no.

But her life _was_ on the line and Tucker's logic was sound. She needed to say yes.

Of course, she thought of herself as a principled person. If it meant putting her life on the line to do the right thing, so be it. No.

It did seem to really be bothering Danny though, and this wasn't the way she should treat the person putting _their_ life on the line for her. Yes.

No.

Yes.

No.

"Yes."

N—wait. Did she just say that last part out loud?

"Great. He'll pick you up at seven." Tucker declared.

Yes. Yes she had.

DP-DP-DP

**A/N:** I got into kind of a hot streak here, so Part 2 is up really quickly. For people here looking for romance, you should know that my philosophy for it is to go slow and grow the relationship instead of going for the big, instant declarations of love. I also firmly believe that a good plot comes first and romance is something that weaves into it, not something that takes it over, or is a side plot. Enjoy the story and watch the progression and your patience will be rewarded.

A lot of important stuff happened here to influence later episodes, so read carefully guys, there will be a test later.

Skulker's back-up problems are courtesy of my clients, who feel that backing up a file once is enough, no matter how much you change that file later.

**Next Chapter: Bonding the Hard Way Part 3 –** It seemed like such a simple plan, but the interference from Jazz and Sam's parents make going to the dance together ten times less simple and one hundred times more awkward!


	3. Bonding the Hard Way Part 3

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 1: Bonding the Hard Way (Part 3)**

It was after school the next day and the trio was in the mall, because Sam's normal routine (courtesy of Skulker) called for her to be in the park. Said girl was in unusually high spirits, both for her reputation, but for someone being hunted by a monster from another dimension.

"..Sam?" Tucker looked over at her smiling face, "You're starting to scare us."

She gave him a glare and a smirk. "I thought I already scared you." Her tone was unreadable and made him jump. He jumped again when she started to laugh. "Sorry Tucker, I couldn't resits. Wow, one bite really went a long way."

Danny was laughing too. It's not just that; it comes from the ghost hunting: the fact that even weak ghosts can overshadow even innocent looking things can make ya kinda jumpy."

"I do _not_ look innocent." Sam shot back.

"Never said you did." Danny held up his hands defensively. "But it is kind of weird: we've both seen you around school and I don't think either of us have seen you in this good a mood."

Sam reached up and swept her hair aside to touch the Fenton Phone in her right ear. "You try staying in a good mood when everyone around you is broadcasting stupid, teenage drama or how much of a goth freak they think you are."

"You could always stop doing the goth thing." Tucker pointed out.

"No way!" She folded her arms. "This is who I am and I like it that way. They're the ones that need to change their minds."

"She's got a point there, Tuck." said Danny. "They call you a techno-geek and you're not looking to give up your PDA anytime soon. Even though at this point, you should just use a smart phone."

Tucker looked agog. "A smart phone? A smart phone?! Danny, this," He held up his PDA, "_This_ my friend is a hand held computer. It does work. A smart phone is just a phone that runs apps. Don't diss the PDA, my friend."

"Okay, fine." Danny rolled his eyes.

Sam chuckled at the pair. They'd spent virtually the entire Thursday together with the two boys ostensibly playing bodyguard, but pretty much just hanging out as the normally did, except with her included. And beyond a dust-up between her and Tucker over his lunch (three Salisbury steaks, including one Dash threw at Danny), they'd all actually gotten along pretty well and to any passers by, it probably just looked like three of the school's most notorious outcasts had finally banded together.

"Hey." She stepped in to break up what was promising to turn into a small squabble. "Check it out, Dead Teacher 2 is playing at the multiplex. Wanna go check it out? I'm buying."

"Dead Teacher 2?" Tucker's face brightened from the sourness of defending his beloved PDA, "Sweet! We were gonna go last week, but then a ghost overshadowed the popcorn machine and by the time we were done, it was sold out and we got stuck watching Sayonara Pussycat."

Sam made a face. "Ugh. Why didn't you just give up on seeing a movie?"

"Broccoli casserole night at home. Tuck will do anything to not be in the house for that." supplied Danny. "Besides, it wasn't _that_ bad. Kinda cute." The other two paused in their slow trot to the multiplex, shared a 'you heard it too?' look, then stared at Danny. "What?"

"Nothing." Sam grinned, almost, but not entirely maliciously, "Just that I'm in a shirt and have ovaries and yet I'm still not the girliest one in the group."

DP-DP-DP

Hours later, after the movie and a late dinner at the Nasty Burger, Danny and Tucker stood out front of the Manson home waving to Sam as she fit her key in the door.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Danny asked, looking around for any sign of Skulker. With the hunter, he couldn't depend on his Ghost Alarm.

Sam got the door open and leaned casually against the door frame. "Relax; Thursdays, I'm usually down at the Skulk and Lurk for goth poetry night until past midnight. If Skulker is following my schedule, he'll be there and I'll be here."

Danny put his hands in his pockets. "Alright, but I'm going to keep my ear bud in. If something happens, just call."

"Yeah," Tucker added, "Danny's top speed is a hundred and twelve miles and hour. If he goes intangible to avoid wind resistance, he can probably crack one twenty. This place is a mile and a quarter from home, so he'll be here in under a minute."

"Less from Fenton Works." Danny added. He missed the worried look Tucker gave him, but Sam didn't."

Instead of starting an old argument again, Tucker coughed nervously. "Oh, and don't forget the dance tomorrow; I'm sure you want to get your hair, make-up and nails done."

Both Sam and Danny winced at the reminder of the dance. Sam covered it with cool indifference. "Yeah, you know me sooo well, Foley. That's exactly how I want to spend my time after school; getting painted and powdered like a doll. It's just a dance, you know. Even if it is my first one."

A small frown came to her face then and it took her a second too long to wipe it away under a sea of well trained gothy scowling. "Well," She said at length. "It was fun being guarded by you tow today. Thanks."

"Thanks for the movie." Said Tucker as Danny nodded in agreement. "See ya tomorrow."

"See ya tomorrow." she agreed and disappeared into the house.

The two boys walked off in silence for a few minutes before Danny piped up. "It's her first dance?"

"That's what she said."

"Well don't you think that's wrong that her first dance is just some ghostly guard detail with a complete stranger?" Danny asked, eyebrows furrowed. Over the past year, a _lot_ of his own big moments had been ruined by ghostly interventions.

Tucker shrugged. "Okay, I see your point, but what are you going to do? Skulker's after her and if I know my ghostly obsessions, he's not going to give up until we kick him back to the Zone."

Danny folded his arms. "Well we can at least do it right." Realization hit him. "_I_ can at least do it right. And I know just the person to help me..."

DP-DP-DP

"Jazz?" Danny knocked on the door of what used to be the Foley's guest bedroom, now the domain of his sister, Jasmine Fenton. He and Tucker had bunk beds in the attic.

The door opened to reveal a very puzzled Jazz. She had her long, red hair tied back and she was in a tank top and pajama pants with a thick book under her arm. Only nine at night and she was already settling in for a long night's reading.

"You don't usually come to me to talk." She observed, her curious blue eyes overflowing with suspicion. "I usually have to stake out the attic door to get you to open up."

Danny studied the floor, suddenly cowed. He usually did everything to avoid getting psychoanalyzed by his elder sister, but he needed her now and there was nothing he could do about it. "Um... I kind of need you to go over to Fenton Works with me."

Jazz's eyes narrowed. "Somehow, I know you're not ready to come to terms with mom and dad leaving yet, so if this has anything to do with ghosts, I'm closing the door now."

"No!" Danny almost panicked. "It's not ghosts, I promise. It's just... remember how we only bought the stuff we needed over here when Tuck's parent's took us in?"

Jazz nodded. Even she occasionally went back to the place to pick up something or other she hadn't thought she'd needed.

"Okay, so I kind of need to get my suit. And I don't know where it is. Mom put it away instead of letting me bury it in my closet.

"Suit?" Jazz's eyebrows went up. "What do you need a suit for?"

Danny turned red. There was no way he could tell Jazz what was really going on without her getting angry about his 'delusions' about ghost attacks. And that left only one reason he'd be going to the dance. "Um. See, there's this girl. We're not like a couple or anything, but the dance is tomorrow and..."

He didn't get any further because suddenly, Jazz was hugging him so tightly he couldn't think straight.

"Oh, Danny, this is a huge step in your social-emotional development! But look, that suit's a year old and you've had a growth spurt. I didn't want to tell you this until you were more mature, but mom and dad did leave me a bank card for emergencies—and my little growing up definitely counts. You'll need a suit, a nice tie, shoes.. Oh! And a corsage for your date!"

Danny reddened further. This was going to downhill really fast.

DP-DP-DP

Sam stretched back on her king sized bed with her eyes closed. Her plasma screen was on with some music videos playing for white noise, but she wasn't paying any attention to it. Her mind was on the previous day and just how much fun it was.

Freshman year, coming back to school with the power to hear thoughts hadn't been fun, especially before she'd learned at least a little control over how 'loud' the thoughts were. She'd drifted away from what few friends she had because she just couldn't stand being around people any longer, now that she knew exactly when they were telling little lies to spare her feelings, or big ones to mislead her.

The Fenton Phones could change that, and she wondered if Danny and Tucker would let her keep them after the Skulker issue was over. Idly, she tapped her nails on the Specter Deflector. They could take that one though; it was heavy and cumbersome, looking like the world's ugliest and least effective chastity belt.

More than that, she wondered if the two boys would still want to hang out after Skulker was gone. The only reason they'd all spent the day together was protecting her from the hunter, but they had fun, right? She hoped she wasn't imagining it, but cause at the very least _she'd_ had fun.

"Sammy-kins!"

Her eyes flew open. Oh no.

She heard movement in the hall; footsteps that managed to sound light and chipper and happy. Warily, she raised her head to look at her door. Had she locked it? Someone, please tell her she locked it. It was locked, right?

The door flew open to admit an immaculate vision in pink and white.

Nope. Not locked.

Pamela Manson's smile was so broad that Sam thought it had to hurt. Her teeth were so bright that the reflection washed out all the drab and dank Sam carefully cultivated in her room. If there were a vampire in the room, her presence would have been as good as the sun for burning it to ash.

"I heard the most wonderful news from Jenkins." Pamela scurried about the room, giving disappointed looks to the band posters and other goth trappings in the room. She even opened the curtains despite it being gone past nine.

Jenkins was the butler. Technically, he was Sam's personal butler, but she'd been giving him paid days off every day since she was eleven. At this point, his only function was as her mother's spy.

"Oh no." Sam repeated, this time out loud.

"He said that he was in the parlor and overheard that you've changed your mind about the dance!" Pamela practically floated over to her daughter. "Oh, Sammy, it's so wonderful! I just knew I was doing the right thing compromising with that hideous dress. Better you be seen in a fashion nightmare instead of not seen at all."

Sam could only glare. There was no point in arguing that she liked that dress. Unless her mother was going to try and get her to wear a different one, it was better to sit back and let the waves of preppy enthusiasm break over her.

"So, who's the boy that's taking you? Do I know him?"

"I... just met him." Sam said, then quickly added, "And he's just a friend."

Pamela frowned slightly at the idea of her daughter going to the dance with someone she just met, but that was covered over b the fact that _her daughter was going to the dance_. "Oh. Well is he at least of good breeding?"

"I don't think he's a dog, Mother." Sam sat up and tossed her hair, unconsciously mimicking Pamela's own 'and I'll hear no more of that kind of talk' mannerism. "Besides, he's been nothing but nice to me and that's what matters."

A slow sigh that carried all manner of 'you are so naive' vibes escaped Pamela. "I suppose that's good enough for high school. And the staff has said you hadn't been your sour old self all evening. But if this boy _is_, so special, just a dress won't cut it."

Sam blanched. "I-it won't?"

"Of course not, silly! We need to get you matching shoes and a handbag, get your hair done, your make-up—what time is the dance? I wonder if we can squeeze in a facial along with the mani-pedi, and we have to order a boutonniere for the young man. Do you know what color his suit if? Oh goodness, gracious, does he know what color your dress is? It would be a disaster if his tie doesn't match..."

DP-DP-DP

At school the next morning, Tucker was stocking his backpack with the books and notes for his morning classes when he suddenly felt a cold chill run up his spine. For a moment, he feared that there was another ghost in school, but when he turned, he found two baleful glares aimed at him, one blue and familiar, one violet and still the source of some vestiges of primal fear bubbling within him.

"Uh, hi guys." He offered.

"I ought to kill you." Danny and Sam said in stereo.

Tucker held up his backpack to shield himself. "What did I do?"

"This dance thing!" Danny said.

Sam picked up from him. "It was already complicated enough,"

Then Dan: "But now it's snowballing!"

"My mother is diving me crazy!"

"Jazz is driving me crazy!"

That last part was in stereo again save for the change of one word. The pair glanced at one another, shared a quick nod of solidarity, then returned their glares to Tucker.

"I've got to spend lunch being measured and stabbed with pins by a tailor!" Danny said.

"A _stranger_ is going to wash and paint my toes." Sam's teeth ground.

A nervous laugh escaped Tucker. He'd just expected Danny to throw on one of his own father's ties and Sam to put on whichever dress she had on over her combat boots. People went to dances casually as friends all the time, and there shouldn't have been a problem.

Alright, maybe he should have banked on Danny's hero complex to kick in when he heard that this would be Sam's first dance, but he'd only expected he might bring flowers and act the gentleman. And why the heck was Sam going all out? She was the one that had to care the least about what was going on.

Clearly, he underestimated the power of relatives meddling. Nothing to do about it now though, and it wasn't his fault at all, really. So he decided to make things worse for the deviltry of it.

"Look at it this way: at least you'll make a cute couple."

"We are not a couple!" They said, once again with eerie synchronicity. Tucker noticed that Danny still had his ear bud in and Sam hadn't taken the Fenton Phones off and wondered if his adjustment to their frequencies to block out the psychic chaff wasn't causing that.

"We're not even actually friends." Sam added, hissing low enough that no one else in the halls heard.

"Ah, give us some time." Tucker summoned all his bravery and a healthy lack of good sense to reach over and pat her condescendingly on the head. "We might grow on ya."

Before she could make him pay for that, the bell rang and it was time to get to class.

Danny and Sam had the same first period, so when she started walking, he followed, after one more glare at Tucker. A small smile quirked his features as he glanced at the still fuming girl. "Hey, look on the bright side: I have to suffer too. Misery loves company right?"

DP-DP-DP

"Sammy-kins!" It was seven in the evening and Pamela Manson, in a rare moment of self sufficiency, was there, ready to open the door instead of letting a butler do it. As she waited, she peered out the window with an avaricious smile on her face. "Your date is here!" She sing-songed, then in her normal, chipper voice she added with great approval, "And he's in a limo!"

On the street, sitting in the back of said limo, Danny looked between a smartly dressed Tucker and Valerie Grey in her beautiful, white and yellow gown. She looked utterly indifferent, making it clear that she was only there because she didn't want to go dateless.

"So; care to explain how you got a limo?" Danny asked, hand on the door handle.

Tucker scoffed. "Danny, do you have any idea how rare it is for a techno-geek like me to go on a date with someone like Val." He shot her a smile, she replied with a bored expression that nevertheless didn't take the wind out of Tucker's sails. "I uploaded a video file of them saying yes, and the donations came pouring in! The limo, my suit, the flowers—everything courtesy of the terminally dateless, seeking to live vicariously."

"That is incredibly pathetic." Valerie said.

"For them, but not for me." Tucker said, "Or you. I promise you this is going to be a dance you won't soon forget." He reached into his jacket pocket and took out a box, flipping it open like an old school cigarette case. "Imported, Swiss chocolates?"

Valerie's' eyebrows shot up. "Wow. Uh, I mean, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take just one..."

Shaking his head at the interaction, Danny got out of the car. "I'll be right back." He got out and looked up at the Manson house. There was someone peeking at him through the window and it defiantly wasn't Sam. As he walked slowly toward the door, he straightened his tie and checked to make sure he still had to corsage.

His suit was pitch black, because the only thing he knew about Sam that he could pass on to Sam regarding what dress color she might wear was that she was a goth. His undershirt was crisp white, his tie was black with silver pinstripes, and he'd snagged a silver cummerbund to cover up the Fenton Ghost Battlin' Belt.

He didn't get a chance to knock. The moment his feet hit the welcome mat, the door opened and he was pulled inside by a whirlwind of pink and khaki. The pink was Sam's mother, Pamela. The khaki (along with a crisp, white button down shirt) was her father, Jeremy.

Before he even understood what was going on, he was stood up beside Sam like some sort of life sized action figure, and half a dozen people with suspiciously professional looking cameras were blinding him with flash bulbs.

When the spots finally cleared from his eyes, he finally got to see Sam, but not as he knew her. Her dress was a ball gown with a black lace-up bodice featuring slashes of red sequins over her ribs on the right side as if she'd been attacked by some wild beast, and a blood red skirt that flared at her hips and reached down just below her knees where they were met by combat boots, but in another symbol of compromise with her mother, these were fancy combat boots, buffed to a shine with laces and treads that matched her dress. She also had opera gloves the same color, she held a black clutch purse in her hands, and her hair was worn up in twin, gelled twists that rose in frills around her head.

Danny couldn't help but stare.

Sam helpfully broke the illusion by leaning over and whispering. "They think you're rich, so they'll play nice. Try and act the part." Out loud, she growled to her parents, "My hands and feet are completely covered, so I really want to know just why the heck I needed a mani-pedi."

"Oh, Samantha," said her father in a heavily stereotypical upper class accent. If anything he was even more of an opposite to his daughter, blonde, clearly stuck-up and possibly a little dim. "It's just how things are done."

A droning noise caught Danny's attention and he looked to his left to find an old lady on a scooter looking him over with a critical eye.

"Um... hi." He said to her, because she was the only one besides Sam that actually seemed interested in anything about him beyond his mere presence. "I'm Danny. Danny Fenton."

Her eyebrows quirked and she shot a surreptitious and smug glance at Sam's parents. "Fenton, eh?" Danny had no idea what was so interesting, but she breezed right past that. "It's been a long time since Sam's had people over at the house. You must be pretty special."

Danny looked to Sam for help. Sam sighed. "We're just friends, Grandma. And probably not for long. With all the flashbulbs and prodding, I wouldn't be surprised if he went all King Kong and freaked out on us."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "Nah, I'm good. Oh yeah! And..." He fished around in his pocked and brought out the plastic container, fogged over from the temperature difference inside and outside. With care, he cracked it open to reveal the corsage of small, red roses and baby's breath. "This is for you. I was going to get carnations, but I don't see you as a pink or yellow kind of girl and roses at like the only other flower I know and..."

"Thank you." Sam said quickly to cut off his rambling, hoping the sharpness of that did a good enough job distracting from the blush at seeing that he'd bought her red roses. "That's sweet. And, I got this.." She opened the clutch purse and came out with a white carnation boutonniere, "This is for you."

"They come in white?" Danny asked before he could stop himself.

Grandma Manson bumped into him with her shoulder. "So what are you two waiting for already? Put them on and get to the dance."

"Right." They said as one. They stared at each other for a second, then blushed. A moment of awkwardness went by as they tried just handing the flowers over, thought better of it, then Danny finally slipped the corsage on Sam's wrist and she pinned the boutonniere onto his lapel. All the while, the photographers snapped pictures, and a two men with video cameras covered all the angles.

By the time it was over, they were both completely frazzled., but made their way out of the house and back onto the street.

For a moment, they just stood in silence, then Danny spoke up. "I probably should have said it earlier, but-ahem- anyway, you look really nice tonight."

Sam smiled and relaxed a bit now that her parents weren't on top of them. "Thanks. You look nice too. You clean up well." He nodded amiably and to her surprise, offered his arm like a Victorian gentleman. Just for the shear novelty of it, she linked her arm in his and they strolled back to the car.

"I don't get to go out much." He confessed. "Ghosts and all. So I was thinking, for as long as Skulker doesn't wreck things, let's try and make the most of this, okay? I promise I'll try and make this the best dance I can."

Sam hesitated. So now they were using each other? Did that make it better or worse? On the other hand, something could be said about gift horses and mouths. After Skulker was dealt with, she'd go back to being the weird loner and he'd go back to being a lonely (save for his mission control) ghost hunter. So why not just enjoy it while it lasted?

"Sure. Sounds good."

Danny smiled and opened the door. Inside, Valerie had warmed up enough that she wasn't hurting Tucker for having his arm around her. They were both holding champagne flutes.

"...it's non-alcoholic, because I don't want to get arrested," Tucker was explaining, "But it's imported and expensive."

Glancing from that scene and Sam, Danny chuckled nervously. "Just don't ask me to compete with the entire internet."

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** I finished my original stories for this week and decided to do some more work on this, because the whole of Episode 1 is already in my head. Originally, it was supposed to just be three acts, but the dance stuff and the fluff was too much fun. I'm kind of having my cake and eating it too with forcing Sam and Danny to got to the dance without actually developing their relationship. The progression of the story in future episodes will fix that. Right now, they're only doing this out of loneliness and some attraction and once the Skulker excuse is gone, they'll have to start from scratch as friends. You'll see, it'll work. Promise.

About this time, I should point out (though episode 2 will make it evident) that even though Danny's been at this for a year, none of the events of the show have happened yet in any form and he's never met any of the ghosts from the series (besides Box Ghost) yet.

But anyway, thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I hope I can live up to your expectations. Fan fiction to me is an exercise in keeping in character and tone while still being entertaining, and I hope I'm doing that.

**Next Chapter: Bonding the Hard Way (Part 4) –** The trio (plus one) dance the night away, but the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter is about to throw down some moves of his own! Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion of The Phantom Reboot, Episode 1!


	4. Bonding the Hard Way Part 4

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 1: Bonding the Hard Way (Part 4)**

_'You will remembeeeer my naaaame!'_

The song ended and some of the dancers clapped; someone even chanted the singer's name a couple of times before the next track came on.

The lights positioned around the perimeter of the gym-turned-ballroom dimmed. It was a clever set-up courtesy of the drama department; they went bright for the fast songs, contributing to the high energy and letting the chaperones get a good eye on everyone, then went down low for the slow, giving the couples some romantic privacy.

As they were dimming again now, Danny and Sam moved back over to the tables. By unspoken accord, they danced together for the higher tempo numbers and retreated to drink punch and nibble refreshments during the slow.

Sam picked up her plate of fresh fruit as Danny sat beside her, slumped in his seat while he got his breath. They both watched Tucker and Valarie still out on the dance floor. After the first hour, and about the time his internet granted gifts started to scrape bottom with a monogrammed handkerchief and a Dumpty Humpty Pez dispenser, Val decided that she was having a good enough time without being showered with increasingly esoteric gifts and they seemed to be hitting it off.

Beaming with pride for his friend, Danny turned to the girl beside him. "They look like they're having a good time... are you?"

She brushed a lock of hair out of her face before answering. "You know, I didn't think I would, but yeah." She offered the plate. "Melon?"

Danny took a piece of pineapple instead, chewing it carefully. "Thanks. Hey, wanna see something cool?" He leaned sideways and reached into his pant's pocket.

"Sure, what?" She sat the plate down and looked on, curious.

He came up with what looked like a white plastic version of brass knuckles on. There was a flat disk of the same material, laced with blue-green streaks, attached so that it lay flat against his palm. "Well my parents seemed to love adding ecto-based technology to everything, so on a hunch, me and Tuck broke down the freezer over at Fenton Works. We're trying to work it into something more useful, but check it out, put your hand over it."

Sam did as asked and when he flexed his palm, the temperature of the air above the disk dropped significantly. She chuckled. "Pardon the pun, but: Cool."

"Tuck thinks—"

"Hey Fen-turd!" a painfully familiar voice interrupted. Not having time to hide the freezing device, Danny lurched his hand upward and grabbed the one Sam was holding over it. She shivered at the cold and made a sound that told Danny he would pay for that.

Moments late, Dash Baxter appeared, decked out in a powder blue tux with lace inexplicably spilling out of his sleeves and collar. Whatever threat or insult he was going to deliver, it died in his throat and was replaced by a sound like stage retching as he spied their joined hands. "Ew! You and the goth? That's too wrong for words, Fentonio."

"Why am I _the_ goth when there are like twenty goths in our school?" Sam asked dryly.

"That's a good question." Danny agreed, "Just like why does he love bullying me when there's people way nerdier... like Tucker?"

Irked by Dash's words and extended act of being mortified, Sam fixed him with her absolute best glare and smirked so hard that the concept of sarcasm sat up and took notice. "Yeah, poor Danny. And to think he could have come to the dance dateless and dressed like the seventies threw up on him like you."

Dash's teeth ground, then they chattered, because the ambient temperature suddenly dropped.

Both Danny and Sam's Ghost Alarms went off, _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_ for him, _The Imperial March_ for her, signaling that this cold snap had nothing to do with the machine sandwiched between their hands.

"Shall we dance?" A hard, completely serious look came over Danny's face and he practically dragged Sam out of her seat and past Dash, who was completely ignored. They got on the dance floor and began a stiff slow dance with Danny leading them across the room, one step at a time. "He's here." He said, surreptitiously touching his ear bud.

"Yup." Tucker replied. "I 'accidentally' spilled a little punch on Val to get her clear. What's the game plan?"

Danny searched the dance floor for ghostly activity, still moving across the floor. He pulled Sam a little tighter. "We're going over to the corner where the bleachers are rolled back. It's the only really dark place where I can transform. When I do, you keep an eye on Sam and have the thermos ready."

"'Keep an eye on Sam'?" Sam demanded. "I'm not a puppy, Danny. I can take care of myself—I stole that ecto-saber thing from Tucker." She shook her clutch purse as proof.

"Look, I know you can take care of yourself, but..." He looked into her eyes and read that expression. "... I'm not going to get you to stay out of this, am I?"

"Not a chance."

He sighed. "Okay, but remember: Skulker is powerful and wants you dead. Not me or Tuck, you. Just... be careful, okay?"

"Deal." She grinned ferally and reached into her bag just as they arrived at the dark corner.

Skulker rose up out of the center of the dance floor, his flaming hair illuminating the darkened room. "My prey may have eluded me for two days, but every whelp in the city is here." He spoke to himself, ignoring the panicking crowd of teenagers that began to scream and flee at his presence. "No, Skulker, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, will finally claim his trophy!"

Sam saw a small smirk form on Danny's own lips and thought that maybe she should convince him to go goth.

"And we..." He reached down under his cummerbund and turned the dial on the Ghost Battlin' Belt. "Are go.." The black and silver mass of energy swirled up over him, replacing Danny Fenton with the ghostly hero, Danny Phantom. As the finishing touch, he slipped on his goggles. "For ghosts!"

An electrical tingle ran up Sam's arms where they''d still been touching and she let go of him quickly.

A cocky grin came to his face and he inclined his head toward her. "I've never had a literal victory dance before, so save the last one for me, okay?" And then he was gone, a flying streak that homed in on Skulker with a green glowing fist.

"Hey Skulker! Last time you caught me at a bad time. Let's see how tough you are when I'm at full power!" He caught the hunter turning around and hit him squarely in the gut, sending him stumbling back across the dance floor. Before he could recover, Danny let him have it with a pair of fully charged ghost rays that slammed him against the bleachers on the other side of the room.

"Sam!" Tucker ducked and dodged fleeing students and chaperones to make his way over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." she said and pulled out the ecto-saber. "By the way, 'we are go for ghosts'? Did you come up with that?"

"Not me." Tucker looked thoughtful. "Danny's dad always said it before running off to investigate a haunting. The guy was kind of goofy, but in a good way. So try not to give him a hard time over it, okay?"

Sam nodded, following the fight across from them. "Got it. So let's get in there and help." She started forward only to find a hand on her shoulder, holding her back.

"That's not actually how it works. Granted, Skulker is the baddest thing we've come up against, but as a general rule, Danny and his belt can handle it. My job is to get people clear, and your job is to not let Skulker catch you and make sure the..." He glanced down at her waist. "... you didn't wear the Specter Deflector?!"

"My mom wouldn't let me wear that thing with my dress." She waved the ecto-saber in front of his face. "But I do have this though."

Meanwhile, Skulker had pulled himself free of the bleachers and was pouring green fire into the air as Danny zipped along the ceiling. "Quite the celebration these humans have here, Inviso Bill. I especially enjoyed the music, but I _especially_ enjoy the hitting people."

"And yet, you're not that good at it yourself." Danny called back as he looped around and tagged Skulker with another ghost ray that blew off one of the hunter's mounted guns.

Skulker smirked. "Then you really know nothing about hunting." Missile racks extended from his shoulders and under his arms. "A key strategy is tiring your prey out!" A dozen missiles streaked out from him and started to home in on Danny.

"Where are you hiding all those weapons?" Danny demanded, juking away from one missile, then shooting down two more with ghost rays before turning intangible to let another pass through him. Eyes narrowing behind his goggles, he dove for Skulker, zipping around even more missiles in the process.

The hunter smiled grimly and raised a palm. A whip of coiled metal shot out, extending three prongs at the end that crackled with electricity. Danny tried to dodge, but it writhed like a serpent and hit him directly in the forehead.

Danny screamed as energy coursed through him. It lasted only a moment that stretched on forever, then he dropped to the floor, breathing shallowly. There was something white-hot in his ear and he frantically dug it out: the ear bud, now on the verge of melting.

_Danny!_

"Huh?" He croaked. "Sam?"

"Not even close." Danny looked up in time to see Skulker barging toward him. There wasn't enough time to dodge the brutal kick the ghost sent to his chest, and he went flying into the buffet table, scattering fruit, cheese cubes, and deli meats everywhere. The punch bowl landed on his head, temporarily washing his vision red.

Skulker didn't let up, sending a powerful ghost ray his way that sent him skidding across the floor until he wound up partially embedded in the wall.

"It's for the best, I suppose." Skulker said in an arrogant tone as he approached the reeling ghost hunter. "I was going to have to destroy you eventually anyway." A nasty weapon with a red glowing barrel unfolded from the back of his arm and he aimed it at Danny's head. "Goodbye, Inviso Bill."

There was a green flash and the weapon was split in half.

"What?" Skulker looked over his shoulder to find Sam Manson standing there, the green light of the ecto-saber reflecting dangerously in her eyes and making her pale skin seem green as she brought the weapon up into a ready position. "And here I thought that _I_ was the only unique and exotic prey you were interested in. Careful, Skulker; you might make me jealous. And you wouldn't like me when I'm jealous."

A grin split Skulker's face and he turned fully toward her, deploying his net launcher. "Don't think I haven't forgotten about you, whelp."

There was a tap on his shoulder. Danny had recovered in the interim and floated defiantly behind him. "Hey, I don't know when you died, so I've gotta ask: ever play video games?"

Skulker turned back toward him partially, aware that he was now flanked. "What are you babbling on about? I didn't hit you that har—"

Danny bobbed down to the floor, ignited one fist with ghostly energy that manifested as a green flame, then shot upwards at full speed, corkscrewing in the air as he delivered a flaming uppercut the a steely jaw. "No reason." somewhere in the gym, Tucker applauded.

The hit unbalanced Skulker completely and he lurched backward. For her part, Sam sidestepped him and slashed the ecto-saber through his left knee, severing the leg. With no leg to catch him, Skulker came down like a felled tree, hitting the floor with a resounding, metallic crash.

Not wasting a second, Danny flew up above him and drew back his hands to his side. A globe of ecto-energy began to build between his them.

Sam looked on with a quirked eyebrow as Tucker rushed up to her. "Is he..."

"It was going to be a Hadoken, but Danny can't keep his wrists together for some reason." Tucker shrugged. "Oh, and he's your hunter, so you get to do that honors." He passed her the Fenton Thermos.

She turned the thing over in her hands, confused.

Above them, Danny finished charging his attack and sent a ghost ray as big around as his waist down onto the prone Skulker. The ghost shouted in rage as the force of the blast tore his armor apart, scattering it across the gym floor.

What was left when the shockwave subsided was a small, green blob on stick-like legs that glared up at them murderously. "You can't defeat me!" it squeaked. "This was only a setback! I am Skulker!, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter! I will sew your pelts into a quilt of doom!"

Sam couldn't hold in her laugh. "That's Skulker?"

"I didn't see that coming either." Danny agreed.

As Skulker continued to rant, Sam looked down at the Thermos. "So how do I use this thing?"

"Take off the top, aim, and hit that button on the side." explained Tucker. "It's a simple point and click interface."

With a malicious sneer, Sam towered over Skulker. "Can't say I didn't want you little guy." She aimed the Thermos, watching the fear dawn on the creature's face as the aperture glowed blue. "And as I've always said, stupidity should be painful."

She hit the button and a howling vortex of blue energy swept out to engulf Skulker, dragging the screaming ghost into the Thermos. As she replaced the cap, Skulker's armor faded from view, leaving the gym empty except for the trio and a jumpy dance mix still playing on the sound system.

"Whew." said Tucker, taking the Thermos from Sam. "Glad that's over." Suddenly, his eyes widened. Oh no! I've got to go find Val and see if she's okay!" With that, he bolted from the room.

Sam and Danny watched him go, then stood quietly, listening to the song.

"So..." Sam said and offered him the ecto-saber. "I guess this is yours again. Do you mind if I keep the Fenton Phones though?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Danny asked, quizzically. He reached down and switched the dial on his belt to off. The jumpsuit became less sharp and defined before melting away from his body and retreating into the hidden nozzles in the belt buckle. Within seconds, he was back to a well dressed Danny Fenton.

She looked away. Because Skulker was gone and there wasn't a reason for them to pretend to hang out anymore. Because midnight was coming and the coach would turn into a pumpkin and life would go back to being mundane and lonely again. She would have to remember that for the next poetry night.

"You know, there's no reason we can't keep hanging out." Danny pushed the ecto-saber back into her hands. "I had a good time the past few days—minus the suit fitting of course, and I know Tucker's still getting over the biting and the monkey bars, but he enjoyed himself too."

"Really?" She asked, mood lightening. "So it wasn't just because you didn't want my death on your hands?"

Danny shook is head. "Of course not. Okay, yeah, at first, but it was fun and I think we should keep doing it."

They smiled at one another and the next song came up. The lights dimmed.

Removing his hand from her shoulder, Danny rubbed the back of his head. "So, the dance is over at eleven. It's ten fifty-five. Time for one last dance?"

Sam remembered the pseudo-slow dance they'd shared while maneuvering to where Danny could change and blushed a little. She couldn't help noticing he did too-at the exact same time. "Um... sure."

Without the adrenaline rush caused by the presence of a rampaging ghost, they didn't dance as closely, or intensely as when Danny was just trying to get them across the gym, but it surprised them how not-quite-awkward it was.

"I agreed," Danny suddenly said. "For a situation started by a murderous dead guy, this did turn out pretty well."

Sam's eyes widened in shock. "Um... Danny? I didn't say that out loud."

DP-DP-DP

[Because a lot of other episodic fics do their own title cards, I will too. This one comes at the end, but in future episodes, they'll come after the cold open.]

EPISODE 1 – BONDING THE HARD WAY

Danny and Tucker are in their suits with sunglasses on and arms folded with Sam in a generic gown cringes and looks behind her at a towering Skulker aiming a huge gun at her.

The tagline reads: It will CAPTURE your attention!

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** Aaand Done. Firs episode in the can. A-booyah.

So that was Episode 1 of the Phantom Reboot. I hope you've enjoyed our presentation and look forward to any review you'd like to send in. I'm not sure when the next episode will be up because a new month is coming up and I've got obligations with my original fiction over at descedantsserial dot com, but I do have ideas on where this will be going and have places for Vlad, Dani and Ember at least.

**Next Chapter: Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share – **Sam is trying to deal with both having real friends again and her new psychic link with Danny, which isn't easy because not only is Danny abusing the novelty of it, but Team Phantom finds themselves fending off a massive ghost animal invasion of Amity Park! Can the newly formed trio learn to work as a team, or will Sam be forced to make Danny into a real ghost just to get some peace and quiet? Find out in our next thrilling episode!


	5. A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share Pt1

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share (Part 1)**

It was the Saturday after the dance and Tucker and Sam were walking away from the counter at the Nasty Burger with their respective orders: a salad for Sam, and a Mega Meaty Melt with chili fries for Tucker.

"But you still can't hear other people, right?" the techno-geek was asking.

"No, just Danny. That's bad enough, but he can hear me—and that's never happened before." Sam slid into the booth in the corner that until recently had been Danny and Tucker's usual place alone before Sam joining them turned the duo into a trio. She started to savagely prod at her salad with her fork.

"And that's not the worst part." She sighs. "Tucker, I had a really weird dream last night. About the Fentons. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't mine."

Tucker eschewed digging into his meal to pull out his PDA and start checking some data. "How's that possible? You told us that you have to be near people to read their thoughts, and my place is a little over a mile from you—it'd be less if he slept over at Fenton Works, but..."

"'How's that possible?'" She mocked, chomping a piece of lettuce. "You're the one that figured out how my powers worked with a PDA, you tell me!"

"I only knew that much because of Skulker... though I'd love to know how he found out. This could be—" He paused on something he found in his recordings from the dance. "Hmm."

"Please say that's a good 'hmm'." Sam bit her lip.

Tucker shrugged. "I'm not sure if it's good or bad. Remember when Skulker hit Danny with that electro-whip thing? Well it killed his earbud—like even I can't salvage that thing now, I'll have to make him a new one—but the weird thing is, just before it cut out, there's a huge spike on the same wavelength as your brainwaves."

When staring blankly at him didn't work, Sam sighed. "In English, Tucker?"

He looked slightly guilty and rubbed the back of his head. "Well it's a combination of things, I think, but the first part of it is, when I reprogrammed your Fenton Phones, I did it pretty quick and dirty; we didn't have a lot of time, and I really only blocked the wave from bouncing back to you and buried your frequency in the frequency of the phones to hide them from Skulker. You were still sending it was just that it wasn't detectable."

"Okay..." She said slowly. "Following you so far..."

"Alright, then, you have to understand that Danny's belt generates that suit out of pure ectoplasm. It's basically a non-sentient ghost when he's wearing it and that means that stuff like emotional energy and psychic wavelengths work differently for it and for Danny when he's wearing it."

Sam put down her fork. "I'm not going to like where this is going, am I?"

"Just remember that this is just a theory." Tucker defended. "But I _think_ that when Danny took that shock to his head, the suit copied your wavelength to him—meaning that now you and Danny are on the _same_ wavelength—Literally!"

"So... you can fix it, right?"

Tucker chewed on the inside of his cheek. "I'll do what I can. It'll take a lot more research though. But hey, look on the bright side: There's a lot worse people to have a mind link with than Danny." He finally put the PDA aside and took a huge bite out of his sandwich.

"Ugh." Sam wrinkled her nose. "Like a dedicated carnivore, I guess."

"Hmph." replied Tucker, swallowing his mouthful. "Don't start that up again. There's nothing you can say that will put me off meat."

Sam couldn't resist. "How about it's cruel and barbaric? Do you have any idea how the animals you eat feel?"

Tucker smirked. "It's not like they can argue the point, ya know?"

Just then, their ghost alarms went off and before they could do anything about it, Danny Phantom phased through the window, sailing over their heads and tumbling violently across the floor until he slammed up against the condiment island.

Hot on his heels, a ghostly steer with four horns and a spiked tail phased both through the window and the booth and charged straight for Danny.

The ghost hunter cringed and phased down through the floor as the steer collided with the condiment island, hurling ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce everywhere. In the meantime, Danny phased up through the floor by the counter, where Dash just happened to be ordering and used his phasing to snatch the bully's letterman jacket off his back.

Jacket in hand, he flew over to his friends at the booth and held out the red and white garment. "Toro! Toro!" he snicked. "I always wanted to say that." The steer was less than amused, and once it turned itself around, it charged with renewed vigor.

But at the last moment, Danny flicked his makeshift cape aside, revealing Tucker with the Fenton Thermos in hand.

A spiraling ray of blue light rushed out and the steer seemed to know what was coming, because it wheeled around and tried to flee. Too little, too late: the blue light enveloped it and it found itself being dragged inexorably backward toward the thermos, it's hoofs gouging the floor.

It's rump hit the mouth of the thermos hit the aperture and compressed to fit, followed by its rear legs and torso. Lowing madly the entire time, soon only the steer's head was left outside of the thermos. It looked around in panic for just a moment before it was pulled in completely.

Nonchalant about the whole thing, Tucker replaced the cap with a satisfied smirk, which turned to a scowl when he saw the same expression mirrored in Sam, but for entirely different reasons. "Don't look so smug. I didn't hear a word of argument from him."

And with that said, he calmly picked up his burger and took another bite.

DP-DP-DP

TITLE CARD

'A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO SHARE'

Sam's head in profile dominated the image. It sit cut away to reveal Danny in shadow, holding up a lit match and looking around cautiously, unaware that a ghostly bear, wolf, shark and snake are rearing up menacingly behind him with dozens of sets of glowing red eyes looking on behind them. The bear is about to blow out the match.

Tag Line: 'BEASTLY FUN'

DP-DP-DP

A quick change into Danny Fenton and a quiet escape in the midst of the panicked Nasty Burger customers later, the trio was wandering along the sidewalk toward Fenton Works with a thermos full of angry steer, plus Skulker.

"Don't worry, Sam," Tucker said, in an upbeat mood, "As soon as we empty the Thermos, we'll get right on your problem."

"What problem?" Danny asked, having missed the entire discussion earlier.

Sam had her arms crossed over her chest and was walking slightly farther ahead of the other two. When Danny asked his question, she turned to raise an incredulous eyebrow at him. "What do you mean, what problem? The 'we can read each others' thoughts' thing doesn't ring a bell?"

"That" Danny asked, "I thought we were all going to be friends now; how is having a psychic link to your friend a problem? Seriously: hey Tuck, how much trouble do you think we could have avoided as kids if we had a psychic link?"

"He's got you there, Sam." Tucker agreed, looking up from crunching data on his PDA.

Danny nodded sagely. "See? Plus, think of all the money you save on cell phones and texting? Psychic links are the wave of the future."

Sam fixed him with a glare and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing Danny to skid to a halt and Tucker to run into him, sending both boys to the ground.

"Wave of the future, huh?" She asked, towering over them, "Alright, let me ask you a question: which of us has been dealing with this sort of thing for two years?"

"You." Danny said as he and Tucker untangled themselves from the heap they'd found themselves in on the ground.

She nodded. "And do you think you have any better control over it than I do?"

"... Probably not." He admitted, dusting himself off.

"Then allow me to present exhibit 'A'" Sam closed her eyes and cleared her throat dramatically. "Johnny Depp." Her eyebrows knitted with concentration as a dreamy little sigh escaped her.

Tucker looked at her, then at Danny and shrugged. "Johnny Depp? What's Jack Sparrow have to do with anything?"

"You've got me." said Danny. "Maybe it's a—oh my god! Sam, why?!" He tried covering his eyes, but that didn't help when the image was being beamed directly to his brain.

A Cheshire grin crossed Sam's features. "Just proving a point."

Still trying to un-see what Sam still had in her mind's eye, Danny shook his head violently. "No, I mean why is he dressed... or should I say _not really dressed at all_ like Edward Scissorhands?!"

A blush replaced the grin and Sam laughed nervously. "Um... it's a goth thing?"

"That was so unfair." said Danny. "I really didn't need to see another dude like that. Just for that..." He closed his own eyes and concentrated furiously. Now it was his turn to sigh. "Paulina..."

"Wha—ew!" Sam recoiled. "Danny, you can't actually like that shallow little witch, can you?"

Danny made a face, affronted, "Hey She's not a witch."

"I notice you couldn't deny 'shallow'." Sam smirked in triumph.

"As... weird and confusing as the past few minutes have been... Tucker said, getting their attention, "We're here."

Indeed, they were standing in front of Fenton Works. Tucker led the way, but instead of stopping in the living room, he crossed to a door Sam had seen the first time she was there.

"Where exactly are we going?" she asked, taking note of Danny still pouting behind her.

"I am not a baby!" He suddenly said, then caught himself. "You... didn't say that out loud, did you?"

Tucker and Sam both rolled their eyes. "Anyway," Tucker said, "This goes down to Danny's parents' lab. All the stuff up here is basically what we can understand, make work and use against the ghosts. Downstairs... well it's probably easier to show you."

They descended the metal stairs into something out of every comic book that ever involved a mad scientist. Beneath a high, vaulted ceiling, there was assembled the most esoteric array of scientific devices and weaponry Sam had ever seen. There were banks of computer mainframes that doubled as shelves for flasks and beakers full of unstable looking chemicals, counters that held spreads of disassembled or partially built electronics and ecto-guns, and against one wall was a miniature space shuttle with the words 'Specter Speeder' stenciled on the side. Hanging form a crane assembly above was something akin to a ten foot long, metal manta ray emblazoned with the words 'Fenton Tactical Anti-ghost Glider'.

And inset into one wall was a set of steel doors set into a hexagonal frame. Where they met, they were painted with yellow and black hazard stripes, and a red light and siren was mounted above it.

"Whoa." Sam said, her voice muted. "If this is where your parents worked, no wonder you ended up being a superhero."

"Or a super-villain." Tucker laughed, crossing the room to a glass case against the wall that looked like a hollow prism. There was an access panel on the side with a glowing, green port just the right side for the Fenton Thermos to slot into.

Meanwhile, Danny took out a key and unlocked a cupboard, coming up with a weapon almost as long as he was tall, open on both ends, with a threatening green glow coming from the business end. "This shouldn't take long, Sam." He said, the earlier argument apparently forgotten. "I guess it's about time you saw how we get rid of these guys."

Sam gaped at the huge gun. "You blast them into tiny pieces with a bazooka? Even for Skulker that seems wrong, much less that innocent cow."

There was a brief flash in her mind of being blindsided by something big and horned rampaging through the park, smashing it's way through a store called 'Pete's Fine Breakables', and then charging straight at her, then it was gone, replaced by Danny's bitter snort. "That 'innocent' cow threw me six blocks. But don't worry, the Fenton Bazooka is actually some kind of portal gun that blasts ghosts back to the Ghost Zone."

"Well that's convenient." said Sam. "By the way; why does everything you have need to have 'Fenton' in the name?"

"That's actually not true." Tucker said. "There's the Specter Speeder, the Specter Cycle, the ecto-saber—oh, and the Jack-o-nine-tails." While he was going over the list, he put the thermos into the receptacle and hit release. A green mist briefly filled the containment cell before coalescing into the incredible bulk of the ghost steer. Pressed against the ecto-reinforced glass was the frog-like true form of Skulker, along with seven ravens with lizard tails and three glowing, red eyes. Squashed against the roof of the cell, was what looked like an opossum with a bony frill like a triceratops.

"Jack-o-nine-tails?" Sam asked, not noticing the creatures in the cell because she was looking at Danny.

"Um... long story." Danny, however, hadn't missed them. "Hey, Tuck: I don't remember catching the weird birds and... whatever that other thing is."

Tucker puffed up his chest proudly. "That's because I did. The ravens were harassing Valerie in the parking lot when I caught up to her last night. I caught the... giant rat?... on the way over to Nasty Burger while you were out looking for the steer." His face fell a bit. "Stupid birds might have messed things up for me and Val though."

Sam couldn't take her eyes off the mutated animals, but she did manage to be sympathetic. "How did they do that?"

The techno-geek frowned sourly. "Well I managed to thermos those things and make it look like I chased them off, but then we got to talking and... well now thanks to Skulker and the ravens, she hates ghosts even more than most people in Amity, and thinks I'm a ghost sympathizer."

There was a beat, as Sam process this. "Tucker, you hunt ghosts. How can she possibly think you're a ghost sympathizer?"

"Because he doesn't think they're evil." Danny said with an eye roll and aimed the Fenton Bazooka with care.

"How can you not think they're evil after Skulker and all the ghost attacks?" Sam asked, arms folded once more. Danny fired and a burst of green light streaked into the containment cell, transforming into a swirling, green disk once inside.

Tucker shrugged. "Admittedly, Skulker was evil. But he's literally the baddest thing we've come up against in the past two years in every sense of the word. Most ghosts we've seen are poltergeists, which aren't that powerful and are just annoying, and animal ghosts, which are still pretty much just animals—except with ghost powers."

The assembled ghosts in containment let loose with terrifying moans as they were sucked inexorably into the temporary portal. In a moment, they were all through and the portal dissolved in a bright flash of light.

Danny shouldered the heavy weapon. "And that's what makes them dangerous."

"Dangerous." Tuckers said, "But not evil."

"He does have a point, Danny." said Sam. "I mean look at wolves: they were almost hunted to extinction because people wrongly thought they were evil monsters instead of just hungry."

"Whatever." Danny said. "But any ghost I see is getting a butt kicking and a one way ticket back to the Ghost Zone." He hit upon an idea that wasn't his own and added, "That is their natural habitat, after all."

Sam blinked, then glared because that was the line of reasoning she'd been considering. "Are we done here? Because I want him out of my head."

"Pretty much." said Tucker. "Let's head upstairs, hit the 'net and order a pizza. I'm sure we can have you two back in your own heads in a couple of hours."

DP-DP-DP

**Sunday**

Sam sat in Amity Park, her back against a sturdy oak tree and a good book on ancient mythology resting on her drawn up knees. Tucker was still deep into research on how to fix their problem, and Danny had been running himself ragged chasing down a ghostly wolf across half the city.

This left her alone, just like she'd grown used to over the past few years, but this time, she was comfortable in the fact that it wouldn't be forever. Now, it was just a good time to spend a lazy afternoon with a book.

At least that was the plan.

_Hey Sam, can you hear me?_

She marked her place at the tale of how Anansi got his stories, somewhat impressed that Danny managed to 'send' on purpose when neither had been able to after the Johnny Depp/Paulina debacle. Closing her eyes, she tried to reply.

_Sam?_

Apparently, he couldn't hear her. She tried harder.

_Hmm... maybe I just need to try harder._

It seemed that Danny had inadvertently pioneered the telepathic version of leaving the phone off the hook.

_Hellooo? Crud. Guess it really is random. Tucker's busy, I don't know where Sam is, and now I'm bored._

Sam tried again to contact him, at the very least hoping to tell him to try and disconnect. Still nothing.

_Nothing better to do, guess I'll keep trying. Sam, Sam, Sam, Sammy, Sam-bo, Samarino, Samsonite, Sam-ford and Son..._

Well that was enough of that. Sam swiftly pulled out her cellphone and dialed him.

"Hello?"

"Shut up with the thinking already!"

DP-DP-DP

**Monday**

Geometry was bad enough on a good day, but tests were worse, even by the standards of other tests. At least other tests could be multiple choice, or involved words, Danny thought. Geometry tests looked like an alien language and required real words the looked fake to be translated into an insanity of numbers and superscript numbers and letters that actually _represented_ numbers.

He groaned silently at just one such question: 'What is the Pythagorean Theorem?'

Seriously, what the heck was that? He was pretty sure 'pythagors' were the spikes at the end of a stegosaur's tail, and that had nothing to do with math at all.

He was going to fail this test. Badly.

But then his eyes drifted to the seat beside him. Out of seven classes in a day, he had five with Sam. They'd started sitting together the week before while he was protecting her from Skulker, but as it turned out, he'd been sitting beside her in Geometry for almost a month and never noticed.

And there she was with that big, beautiful brain all filled with answers and a GPA that put his to shame. A brain that he now had backdoor access to that no teacher could ever catch on to. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to make contact.

Sure she'd dressed him down the day before for it, but that was because he'd been really annoying without knowing she could hear him. This time, he would ask once and if he didn't get a reply, he'd stop.

_Hey Sam? What's the Pythagorean Theorem?_

_Sorry Danny, I'm not going to help you cheat._

_Come on, please?_

_No. I'll be happy to help you study, but I am firmly against cheating._

Danny slumped in his desk. Yup, he was going to fail. Unless...

Something Sam had said the day they'd official met came back to him. She had said that she picked up surface thoughts; whatever was top-of-mind at the moment. Maybe... He screwed his eyes shut and envisioned the words 'Pythagorean Theorem' as hard and as vividly as he could.

A few minutes later, a corresponding idea floated back: 'A squared plus B squared equals C squared'.

Sam twitched.

_Did you just...?_

_...Maybe._

She growled loudly enough that the teacher looked up.

DP-DP-DP

**Tuesday**

Gym. Sam had it the same period as Danny, but the class split off by gender most of the time. Today, the girls were playing basketball, while the boys were on the other side of the gym learning the basics of soccer. Not long into the period, Danny's ghost alarm, set to vibrate during school hours, went off and he asked to use the bathroom.

The passing drills they were doing were child's play to her, so she had time to let her thoughts wander. After she'd had some choice and violent words with Danny at lunch, he seemed to get the message: the psychic link was not a toy. There had been a few slips that day, but nothing that was his fault or particularly embarrassing.

And just as she was tempting fate, fate took up the challenge. Suddenly, she wasn't in the gym, she was in the courtyard where they sometimes had lunch. Except she wasn't having lunch. Not at all.

The vision was so realistic, she actually yelped and flinched, only just managing to stifle herself from repeating Danny as he screamed "Ghost weasels! Aaaah! Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!". That was little comfort, however, as her flinch made her miss a hard pass from Valerie, which caught her right in the forehead.

DP-DP-DP

Two hours later, Tucker was gathering his supplies to head home. His bag full and PDA in hand, he closed his locker to find a thundercloud that just happened to be in the shape of Sam Manson with a welt on her head from getting beaned by a basketball.

"This." She said with acid in her voice. "Needs to end. Please tell me you'd found something."

Searching for possible escape routes and finding none, Tucker hissed softly through his teeth. "Actually, yeah. It won't break the connection, but it should help you control it. The problem is, you're gonna think it's stupid."

"I got attacked by imaginary ghost weasels, then smacked in the face with a basketball. I'm willing to try stupid." she said.

"I agree." Danny walked up behind Tucker, looking the worse for wear; he had bandages on his face and arms and looked woozy.

Tucker turned to look at him. "What happened to you?"

"I got hit in the face by an imaginary basketball, then the ghost weasels housed me while I was stunned. I'll gladly accept all the stupid you can hand me."

"Alright." tucker shrugged and dug into his backpack. "But I warned you." He came up with a purple bound book with a dust jacket picturing a brain being hit by lightning bolts.

"'Zen and the Technique of Mental Thinking." Danny and Sam read as one.

"Mental thinking?" Sam asked with disgust.

"What other kind of thinking is there?" Danny added.

"Yeah, that's pretty stupid." They finished in duet again, pausing briefly to gawk at the other in surprise, then groan at realizing why that just happened.

Tucker put the book into their hands. "Stupid, but the meditation techniques should let you gain some control over the link. Then it's just a matter of Danny learning self control." He laughed at his own joke.

Danny looked down at the dubious book. "I guess it's worth a try. Luckily the only ghost threats seem to be a whole lot of ghost animals for some reason, but they're all pretty minor. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get a hold of this link thing."

DP-DP-DP

Across town, at a construction site, in the middle of a mound of freshly dug up earth, there was a green flash and a wisp of ecto-energy floated up from the ground. It condensed and took form until it became a gigantic ghost bear with four arms and saber teeth. Its red eyes glowed and it snarled before bounding off to wreak havoc. Moments later, there was another flash, but all that could be seen was a massive, glowing fin, cutting through the topsoil.

DP-DP-DP

**A/N –** So begins Episode 2, hope everyone enjoyed it. I am aware that this part probably upset the shippers, but as Alton Brown says, your patience will be rewarded. Keep in mind, after all, that this incarnation of Sam only just met Danny a couple of days earlier and for all intents and purposes, they're strangers who now have a hard line to each others' brains. What might have been cute if they were friends since second grade is decidedly not when he's just some guy that hung out with her a couple days. They'll have to grow together some more before that.

I'm not sure how well it comes across, but just to note: the Ghost Portal isn't turned on and Danny and Tucker are forced to jury rig their own method of sending ghosts back to the Zone. Fan of the Chekov's Gun that I am, the lab is full of stuff that will come up later. Please pay close attention to Danny's attitude toward ghosts; there will be a test later.

Bonus points if you know the actual name of the weapons on a stegosaur's tail.

**Next Time: Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share (Part 2) – **Sam and Danny try out the new meditation techniques, but the sharp uptick in monstrous animal ghosts soon gets in the way. As Team Phantom searches for the source of the attacks, the psychic link proves a liability while at the same time threatening to destroy Danny and Sam's friendship.


	6. A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share pt2

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share (Part 2)**

Jazz mounted the stairs to the second floor of the Foley home with an empty laundry basket in her hands. The Foleys were nice enough to have taken her and Danny in after it became clear that their parents weren't coming back, so she was happy to do what she could around the house for them. And, as she didn't have homework that afternoon, or anything else pressing, she was going to do a couple of loads of laundry.

Humming gently to herself, she headed for the master bedroom to collect Mr. And Mrs Foley's hamper when she heard voices coming from behind the door to Danny and Tucker's shared room.

"This is both uncomfortable and embarrassing." said Danny.

Jazz rolled her eyes. Danny was always ending up in situations that could fit both descriptions, especially with Tucker involved.

"And what's with the candles?"

What was that now? Jazz paused in mid stride.

"Just relax, okay?" the second voice was decidedly not Tucker. It was a girl. Since when did Danny bring girls home? "This is how the book says to do it and I want do it right the first time."

That set Jazz's mind to racing and she remembered that there _was_ a girl; the mystery girl Danny took to the Fall Formal the week before, the one whose only descriptor he was willing to divulge was 'goth'. Maybe that was her in there now.

Danny spoke again. "I'm trying to relax, but this position stinks. I'm getting a cramp."

What the heck were they doing in there?! Jazz's mind thundered.

"I can't say I disagree." said the girl with a groan. "I can't believe some people do this for fun."

That tore it. No time to think, it was time to act! Jazz threw open the door and barged in, eyes averted so she wouldn't catch an eyeful of whatever her brother was doing with his girlfriend. "Alright you two! That's about enough! I know you're young and your hormones are raging, but you seriously need to stop and think about all the ramifications of what it will mean both to your emotional well being and your relationship before you..."

She trailed off as she was finally forced to look at what was going on, which only raised more questions. "Just... what _are_ you doing?"

Danny and Sam say on the floor, about an arm's length apart in awkward and incorrect lotus positions with a lit candle in front of each of them and a purple bound book lying open next to Sam.

"Meditation." Sam said, holding up the book. "It's for our... Health and Wellness unit in gym this semester. Right Danny?"

"Huh? Oh! Right. We all have to do a report on... things like this." Then Danny's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute... what did you think we were doing?"

Shaking off the awkwardness, Jazz decided the best course was to ignore him in favor of Sam. "Hi, I'm Danny's sister, Jazz. I guess you're the secret girlfriend he went to the formal with?"

"She is not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

They spoke in unison, this time no longer even surprised by it. They were coming up on a whole week of synchronicity and they were getting used to it.

Sam flicked a lock of hair out of her eyes. "We went to the dance, but just as friends. And as you can see, you're not the first one to make that mistake."

Jazz gave them a dubious look. "Alright, I guess. But keep the door open when you're in here, okay?" She shot Danny a look, then smiled at Sam. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise." Sam gave the older girl a small wave as she left, then turned her gaze on Danny. "'The ramifications to our emotional well being'?"

"She talks like that. All the time. She's okay, but if she uses the words 'break through' or 'open up', run." He lowered his voice with a weather eye on the door. "She also doesn't believe in ghosts."

Sam snorted. "Seriously? She lives in the most haunted town in America, is the daughter of ghost hunters, and she doesn't believe in ghosts? How is that possible?"

Danny shrugged. "No idea. Though, to be fair, I never actually saw a ghost either before my parents disappeared. They seem to have been really good at keeping that stuff locked down... unlike me." His shoulders slumped and Sam frowned as his feelings of crushing self doubt invaded her mind.

Scooting around her candle, she reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. "Danny... come on, don't be like that. You're new at this still, and from what I've seen, you're really good at this. And take it from me: I wouldn't even be here today if you weren't.

Looking unsure of what to say, Danny stared at the floor. "If it were my mom and dad, I bet you wouldn't have had to hide out for two days. Huh. Maybe next Time Jazz tries to do her amateur psychologist thing on me, I should just use it as free therapy, huh?"

Sam was about say something in response when Danny's cellphone rang.

He grabbed it off his bed, and knowing the ringtone, answered with, "What's up Tuck?" The first sounds he heard was an unearthly roar and distant screaming.

"Danny!" Tucker said, out of breath. "I went to the library, you know for that research I'm doing for you two? And... and..."

More roars and a crash.

Danny worked hard not to panic. "Tucker! What's going on down there?"

"Bear." Tucker said. "B-big bear. Big _ghost_ bear. Dude, you gotta get here quick!"

"On my way. Just stay out of sight, man." He snapped the phone closed and Sam could feel the previous doubt and shame and insecurity being neatly boxed up and filed away. Now there was nothing but determination and concern for his best friend. "Come on, Sam!" He said, scrambling to his feet.

Distracted by the sudden shift she sensed in him, Sam's internal censor failed miserably. "So are we flying there? She asked eagerly. She couldn't lie; she'd liked that part of their first encounter.

"Too slow." Danny said, leading her to the door. "Well take the Specter Cycle."

She almost laughed. "You old bike? It's barely a scooter, Danny. I kind of doubt it's faster than flying."

"That's only because you don't know me that well yet." He grinned mysteriously.

The bike, with the sidecar still attached, was parked in the Foleys' side yard. It even _looked_ sad and forlorn, cowering there in the house's shadow.

"Don't I need a helmet?" Sam asked, watching Danny climb aboard.

Danny was fiddling with his belt, flicking open a compartment inside which was a coiled length of insulated wire with an oversized stereo jack at one end. "You'll be fine. Just get on behind me."

"But there's a sidecar."

"It only works if you're behind me." He explained, "Don't be embarrassed, there's grips on the back there so you don't need to hold on to me or anything."

She looked. There weren't.

"Danny..."

"Just trust me, okay?"

She blew a stray hair out of her face and climbed aboard. Despite what he said, it _was_ embarrassing. Samantha Manson was no one's motorcycle mama. As those grips he mentioned weren't here, she chose to hold on very tight with her legs and fold her arms in front of her defiantly.

Danny took no notice, as he slid open a panel between the handlebars. Inside was a dial, not unlike the one on the Ghost Battlin' Belt, and a port just beneath it. Danny plugged the jack into the port and started the engine, which puttered meekly. "Ready?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I'm sooo ready."

He smirked at her tone and decided that just for that, she didn't get any warning beyond..." Then we are go for ghosts!" With that, he turned the dial on the bike. The rims of both wheels made a _ka-chunk_ sound as they turned, uncovering nozzles like those in the belt's buckle.

"Hey, wait a minute." Sam started, but it was too late: crackling green and black ectoplasm washed over both them and the bike. She shrieked as it slithered up her legs, leaving a pins and needles sensation even through her clothes.

Unlike Danny's transformation into Danny Phantom, the bike was substantially and fundamentally altered, going from a light, elderly motorbike to a large, sleek and heavy sportbike. The body was black with white wheel rims and accents an the sad little cough the motor had been making became a powerful roar.

Sam, however, couldn't really appreciate all that, as she was too busy shivering from the shock and weird feelings in the pit of her stomach being covered over in ectoplasm elicited in her. "That... didn't feel good." She stated and slumped forward across his back.

"It's never felt bad to me." Danny said with a frown. He was now in his Danny Phantom jumpsuit and was securing the goggles to his face.

"Maybe if you gave me a little warning, you jerk." She raised a hand to thump him on the back, only to find that it was encased in a black glove, which went to a white jumpsuit, which... she was currently wearing. "Gah! What in the world?!"

The mental link let Danny know instantly what the problem is. "Oh. That. It's like a safety feature or something my parents built in. Anyone on the bike when I switch modes gets a suit like mine. It's better than any helmet, believe me."

He sighed nostalgically. "My parents built this right before they... left... and promised I could have it as soon as I got my license. I was driving around for almost a year before Tuck discovered that it was ecto-infused and had that secret panel."

There was a beat and both of them suddenly forgot their current issues. "Oh my god, Tucker!" They paused, noting the synchronicity once again, then added, "Let's go!"

Danny revved the throttle and the tires screeched briefly on the ground before the bike tore off into the air, leaving a strike of blue fire in its wake.

Sam screamed and almost crushed Danny's ribs in her panic. "Why do you never warn me about things?!"

"Psychic link, remember? I figured you'd know what I was thinking." He choked out.

"It doesn't work that way!" She shouted at him as Amity Park whirled by beneath them. It didn't take long for her to spot the library and the mass of people fleeing form it. "There!"

"I see it." said Danny, banking toward it. "Oh, and fair warning... I'm a little rough on the landings."

"How rough?" She asked cautiously.

"Just... well hold on."

The bear was on the library steps, one of the stone benches set out there held aloft in two of its four arms, poised to throw it at the helpless townspeople.

Danny steered straight for it and flicked a switch above the throttle. The headlight flashed green, then belched forth a ghost-ray larger than any he could have generated with just the suit. The ray blasted the bench apart, showering the bear with shrapnel.

Not done yet, , he dropped the bike to the deck and gunned it, "Hey Bruno! The only bears they allow in there are Paddington and Winnie the Pooh, so how about you back off?!" As he sped toward the monstrous ghost, he cocked back a fist and let it blaze with energy.

"You're not." Sam said from behind, knowing exactly what he was contemplating.

"Oh yes I am." said Danny. He weaved at the last minute to dodge a swinging claw, and came up inside the bear's guard, sending a haymaker into its chest with the combined force of an ectoplasmic charge and a motorcycle doing one hundred in the air.

The bear went flying back against the library doors, splintering them off their hinges. Unable to stop in time, Danny lifted the front wheel up, and to Sam's stunned surprise, drove directly up the wall. He did a U-turn at the roof and came in for a jarring two-point landing just in front of the doors.

"You. Are..." Sam was more frazzled than she'd been even when Skulker was after her.

"Awesome?" Danny asked hopefully. "Badass? A great driver?"

"Insane! Reckless! I could have fallen off when we went up the wall you know?"

Danny sputtered, then hung his head. "I... couldn't find the intangibility switch." He admitted. "So I kind of had to-" He was cut off by a roar was the ghost bear lunged out of the library, aiming to land right on top of them.

The pair acted as one. Sam dew out the ecto-saber from her purse and Danny raised a palm blazing with a charged ghost ray. The saber-sliced its abdomen, unleashing a flood of ectoplasm, while the ghost ray hit it, again in the chest and sent it crashing against the wall.

"God, I hope he's weak enough now..." A spiraling, blue blast shot past them to engulf the ghost bear. The creature tried to rise, but was too disoriented to put up much of a struggle. It was soon pulled into the Fenton Thermos, which a much relieved Tucker then capped.

"Whew." He said, leaning against the wall for support. "It took you two long enough, but I'm seriously glad that's over." He frowned at the pair on the bike. "How come she gets a white one? When I ride, it's always green on black."

Danny switched the dial on the bike to off, reverting it and them back to normal. "Probably the same reason the suit looks different when you're trying on the belt: ectoplasm is weird."

Dismounting from the bike, Sam showed the ecto-saber back in her purse. "So is this how it always is with you guys?"

"Actually? No." Tucker said, looking puzzled. "There's never any shortage of animal ghosts and things that like to go bump in the night, but did you notice anything funny about that bear? Besides the ghost part, I mean?"

"Something like four arms and tusks?" Danny offered. Tucker nodded.

"What?" Sam asked, "That's not how things usually are? I mean the cow was weird too—and those birds Tucker captured."

Tucker pulled out his PDA and ran through some files. "Man, have we been distracted by this mind link business: every animal we've run into since the dance has been all mutated. Sure, we've seen some weird looking animal ghosts in the past, but all of them? And we've fought almost one a day; that's a record even for us."

Sam chewed her lip. "So what's this mean?"

"Don't know yet." said Tucker, "But something has to be causing this and we should get to the bottom of it. Sorry guys, but I think we're going to have to put figuring out how to get you two disconnected off until we do: this could get dangerous."

Danny nodded and started his bike again. "I guess Danny Phantom better start on a patrol. Maybe I'll get lucky and figure out where it's coming from."

"We all should." Sam suggested. "We all have ghost alarms; we can each take part of the city and cover more ground that way."

"That's a great idea, Sam." Tucker said, but his expression fell as he saw the look of shock and simmering rage Sam was now aiming at Danny. "Um..."

Like a wildfire sweeping across the plains, Sam bore down on Danny, somehow towering over him even though they were almost the same height thanks to her boots. "'Finally, something important to do'?" She spat the words out like bitter poison.

Danny leaned away from the conflagration that was Sam Manson, almost toppling off the other side of his bike. "S-sam, I..."

"You didn't want me to hear that thought? Of course you didn't, but I did." She poked a finger into his chest. "And do you know why I did? Because _we can hear each other's thoughts uncontrollably_. So you wouldn't be in trouble right now if maybe, just maybe you took this seriously and didn't act like this is some fun new toy like your stupid belt, or your stupid bike, or your stupid _ghosts_!"

With one last, vicious poke that sent him sprawling off the bike, she turned and headed down the library steps.

"Sam, wait!" Tucker started to follow her.

"Goodbye, Tucker." She said with an exasperated sigh. "It's not your fault you've got an idiot for a best friend."

By this time Danny had scrambled up to rest his chin and one arm on the bike's seat. "I didn't mean it, Sam. Sometimes you think things and..."

But she was gone, around the corner and down the street, taking with her an aura of palpable anger.

Tucker groaned and slapped his forehead. "Dude, what did you do?"

A similar groan escaped Danny as he pounded his head gently against the seat of the Specter Cycle. "What I do best, Tuck: screw up."

Neither they, nor Sam noticed a fin briefly emerge from the street, circle around once, then start following her.

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** Settling into a more normal update schedule after the manic frenzy of creation I had with the first episode.

For those of you not in the know, the original concept of Danny Phantom not only included him and Sam having a psychic link, but Danny having a motorcycle. In that spirit, behold the Specter Cycle and the ASK (Autonomous Side-Kar). As will be explained later, the cycle drains ecto-energy pretty severely, so Danny doesn't bust it out all the time.

It's always fun to make Sam mad, because she's honestly the most intimidating non-ghost in the show. Check out her displays of freakish strength when she's angry in _Lucky In Love_ and it's not hard to see why. It's also why I gave her an ecto-saber for this story; it makes her a close quarters fighter and a pretty brutal one too.

**Next Chapter: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share Part 3 – **With Team Phantom separated and unfocused, it's up to Tucker to make things right. Unfortunately, making things right is going to involve a wild ride and a fight with a flying seafood special!


	7. A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share pt3

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share (Part 3)**

The full might of Sam's anger was in rare form as she stormed down the street, arms crossed, hands clenching into fists.

"Stupid reverse mulleted jerk." She muttered. "He doesn't get any of this! He's so... so _clueless_!" Her voice shifted low as she mocked what he'd been thinking. 'Duh, finally something important to do instead of all that meditation and reading!' Yeah, like a horde of mutant ghost animals attacking out home town is sooo—"

She caught what she was saying and stopped both talking and walking to shake her head. "Okay, so that's pretty important. But just because dealing with this mind link isn't more important doesn't mean it's not important at all." Starting to walk again, she threw her hands in the air. "God, why does he have to be so stupid?"

DP-DP-DP

Tucker was still frowning in the direction Sam went. "So. What do we do now? Go after her?"

Danny leaned on the seat of his bike. "What's the use? Thanks to this thing in our heads, I can just piss her off by accident remotely." He shook his head. "I don't get it: if you and I had this brain thing, we wouldn't be making each other mad all the times. You'd laugh ay my dumb pranks and slip-ups and I'd so the same, right?"

"Right." Tucker said. "But I'm not a girl. Girls are like a whole different ballpark thoughts wise."

Heaving a sigh, Danny remounted his bike. "Yeah. Right. Okay, I'll try and talk to her tomorrow in class; maybe she'll have cooled off by then. I'll just have to try not to—Hey! My hair's not a reverse mullet!" He slapped both hands on his head in panic.

"...try not to think something that might hurt her feelings to her?" Tucker offered. "And yeah, it kind of is. Party up front, business in the back. Like a follicle nightclub."

Fixing his friend with a glare, he started the bike. "We still need to patrol today though. You wanna take the ASK?"

Tucker's eyes lit up. "You bet!" He hopped into the sidecar. With a bit of fiddling, he head his PDA plugged into the dashboard, where a small, color screen appeared.

His own voice, purposefully pitched down and slowed in tempo to sound electronic spoke through the speakers. "Welcome [Tucker], to the Autonomous Side-Kar. Please fasten your safety harness and secure all loose items while the decoupling routine is executed."

There was a metallic whine as the clamp that held the sidecar to the Specter Speeder detached and folded under. At the same time, compartments on the sides opened to reveal heavier duty wheels, a rocket booster, and an array of ghost hunting weapons.

The ASK was not a Fenton invention, but a Frankenstein's Monster of non-functional devices, spare parts, and whatever he and Danny could dig out of the garbage behind Amity's finest mechanic shops. Anti-ghost arsenal aside, it wasn't ecto-infused at all, just plain old electricity.

"Good luck, Dude." He said to Danny.

"You too. Stay in touch with the Phones." Danny said before taking off on his usual patrol route. He didn't bother to transform, because the Specter Cycle in ghost mode drained embarrassing amounts of energy.

As soon as Danny was out of sight, Tucker set off as well, but not after ghost, after Sam. Somethings, he decided, could only get worse with age.

DP-DP-DP

After walking three blocks toward home, it finally occurred to her that while she remembered her purse, she'd forgotten her brand new, purple, spider-shaped backpack back at the Foley home.

And just like that, her hopes of getting some time Danny-free to cool down and collect her thoughts over what just happened evaporated. She'd probably explode at him again and That'd be it for being friends with him _or_ Tucker anymore.

"This day really can't get any worse." She muttered while contemplating heading for the Foleys while the boys were still chasing ghosts.

Being what it was, fate chose that time for the Imperial March to start playing from her ghost alarm.

"Oh right." She said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "For a second I forgot I live in Amity Park." She pulled out the ecto-saber and turned a slow circle. Anyone walking up to her in that moment would have thought that somewhere in Hell's deepest forges, someone was missing a pair of coals, because they had replaced her eyes.

"You know what? I actually want you to show up right now." She said to the still unseen ghost. "Maybe what I need to calm down is give something a good pounding. So come on out: my day turned really cruddy really fast and I'd just _love_ to share it with you."

Something moved at the other end of the street and her bravado wavered: it was a dorsal fin slipping through the asphalt, as tall as she was. Some distant part of her mused that Amity Park wasn't the only Amity in the world. There was also Amity Island. And Amityville. Why did people keep calling places Amity if this sort of thing kept happening?!

The fin turned in her direction and accelerated. With a fin that big,t he shark attached would have to be... well Sam felt she might need a bigger ecto-saber.

No point running though; it was fast, faster than her, and as a ghost, it wouldn't get tired. Her only hope was to hurt it badly enough that she stopped seeming appetizing to it. So she planted her feet in a solid stance, raised her saber, and prepared to meet the self-propelled teeth fiesta.

Something else rounded the corner too, but before she could get a good look at it, the shark breached the ground. It was larger than any living (or un-living, she supposed) thing she'd eve seen, and as was to be expected, had more teeth than a circular saw factory.

There might not have been a point of running, but it felt a lot smarter than just standing there now. Sam bolted to here right. Years of interest in animal conservation and watching wildlife documentaries told her to break at a right angle to avoid the charging predator instead of trying to flee in the opposite direction. This paid off as the shark passed through the street maw-first, right where she would have been if she had turned and run.

"Sam!" She looked around to find Tucker driving up the street in what she first thought might be a very expensive soapbox derby racer. When he got closer, she found that it was actually the detached sidecar from the Specter Cycle.

Tucker brought the ASK to a screeching halt beside her. "You okay?"

"Not really..." She said, scanning the area for fins.

"Yeah, we'd better get out of here before smiley comes back. Hop in."

It took an effort of will to force her eyes to stop darting around. When she did, she gave the ASK an incredulous look. "There's only one seat."

Tucker shrugged. "I didn't expect Team Phantom to take on new recruits when I built it. Luckily, neither of us is exactly fat, so we should fit. Come on, we need to regroup with Danny; we don't have the firepower to take out the shark."

A sour look came over Sam's features. "Maybe I don't want to see Danny right now, okay? So if that's why you really came after me, you can just drive on by, okay?"

"Hey." Tucker said. "Maybe I don't know what just went on with you two, but we are clear that _I_ didn't do anything to you, right?"

After a moment of silent tension, Sam sighed. "I know, Tucker. And really, maybe I'm expecting Danny to understand more than I should about this. It just made me so mad when he said... er... thought that this problem with the psychic link wasn't important."

"Oh." said Tucker with a small frown. "Don't take this as me defending my best friend or anything, but something you'll learn about Danny is that the boy can be pretty clueless. He means well, he tries, but sometimes he just doesn't get it, ya know? You're gonna have to spell it out for him."

Sam deactivated the ecto-saber and leaned on the ASK. "I know. It's all so complicated, you know? I've only just gotten used to not having to deal with other people."

Tucker opened his mouth to agree, but then their ghost alarms went off. "Ah! Jaws if back!"

Turning, Sam saw the now horribly familiar fin coming down the adjacent street. Fight or flight kicked in and she picked the latter, leaping into the ASK. Even though they were both thin for their age, it was a tight fit and their shoulders ground painfully against each other. "Drive! Drive!" She shouted in his ear.

It took some wriggling around to do it, but Tucker got his foot stomped down on the accelerator and the ASK peeled out. But as fast as it was, the ghost shark was faster.

Sam watched it coming in the rearview. "Ohmigosh, Tucker, tell me this thing has some kind of weapons on it."

"Okay... this thing has weapons on it... all forward mounted." Tucker said, shamefaced.

The shark was even closer now, making the 'objects in mirror may be closer than they appear' label on the passenger mirror seem like a cruel joke. "Well we've got to do something." Sam said, "Don't we have any other Fenton gadgets in here?"

"Um..." most of his concentration was dedicated to steering the ASK. "Check the glove box."

Sam did and her expression became unreadable as she produced a fishing pole with glowing, blue line. "A-are you kidding me?"

"You said the same thing about the thermos." Tucker pointed out.

She had. She sighed. Ghost hunters or not. Secret heroes or not; the Fentons' reputation for eccentricity hadn't been unfairly earned. "Okay, so how do I use it?"

"You know how to fish—like cast your line."

"I'm not a fan, but yeah." she admitted. "From back before I really took an interest in animal rights."

"Pfft. Fish don't count."

"Yes they do." She said with the finality of a closing coffin. "Now tell me how to use it."

Tucker cringed. "Fine. Just point and cast."

She briefly examined the rod. "Point and cast. I can do that." She struggled to turn around in the confines of the ASK, ending up with Tucker's elbow in her back, but at least enough room to use the bizarre device. It wasn't a moment too soon either, because just as she got situated, the ghost shark threw itself out of the ground and lunged for them, jaws snapping.

"Point." She drew back the rod, thumb on the release button for the reel. Her hair was blowing in her eyes and she was no longer completely confident that she was even aiming in the right direction. "And... cast!" The hook flew true, trialing a glimmering line of glowing blue.

In defiance of all physics, it made a ninety degree turn and looped around, drawing the ghostly fishing line behind it. That loop went 'round and 'round the shark's mouth until it pulled taut, snapping the murderous jaws closed.

Reacting with more shock than an earthly shark was capable of, the ghost broke off its attack and dove once more into the road, trialing the line along behind it.

"Ha!" said Tucker as Sam got herself turned back around. "That's the first time the Fenton Fisher ever got used the way it was intended."

Sam tried to relax in the seat, not noticing that the line was still slowly paying out of the Fenton Fisher's reel. "Do you think it's weak enough to put in the thermos now?"

"Hard to tell." said Tucker. "Some big ghosts like that can take a lot of punishment before they're ready to call it quits. I'll feel a lot better if we have the Ghost Battlin' Belt on our side before trying –thermosing a ghost makes them mad."

"I guess so." Sam sighed. "And once we're there, I can explain to Danny that—"

_twang_

"Huh?" She looked down to find that the line in the reel had been depleted. "Oh no. Tucker?"

But it was too late. With a powerful tug on the line, the ASK was hauled sideways onto an adjacent road. There, the ominous fin emerged once again, only this time, it was pulling them along for the ride. Not only that, but it was pulling them toward the parked cars along the lane, clearly attempting to crash them.

Both teens screamed and Tucker bent at the wheel, steering them around the obstacles in a blind panic.

Sam's eyes darted around the dashboard. "Weapons... weapons. Maybe if we can blast it..." She touched a button and a small turret popped up on the side of the ASK, locked on, and fired a seething, green mass of some sort of foam directly into the side of a car. "Oops."

Tucker very carefully moved her hand away from the console. "We're lucky it was just the foam. There's plasma weapons on here. Now there would be some property damage."

"Okay." Sam nodded. "So shoot it with those."

"It doesn't really right now;" Tucker explained. "It's mostly underground and frankly, I'm not that good a shot."

Sam looked on pensively as they narrowly missed smashing into an SUV. "Then what can we do?"

"I.." Tucker started, but he had nothing. The best they could do was hold on and try not to die.

The shark dragged them across a busy road, where they nearly got hit by a minivan, then down a steep hill toward a row of brownstone houses. At the very bottom the shark took a hard right turn and suddenly Tucker saw salvation in the form of a street light and a telephone pole.

"Sam, hold on. I've got an idea but... well it's not going to be fun."

"If it gives us any better chances than this, do it." She said.

And so he did, pulling the wheel hard right and hitting the toggle for the ASK's rocket booster. With a whine followed by a mighty roar, the sidecar leap forward in the opposite direction as the shark was pulling them and Tucker cut it at a hard angle around the streetlight, He then cut hard back in the other direction past the telephone pole.

The Fenton Fisher's line went taut again as two incredible forces put pressure on it from opposite directions. But where the ASK had traction with the road, the shark, being intangible under the ground was not, and so lost the tug of war. It was pulled bodily out of the ground and whipped around the two uprights. Too late, it tried turning solid, only to do so just in time to careen directly into the side of one of the houses.

For a second, it remained plastered to the wall like a fishing trophy, then it collapsed senseless to the ground.

Tucker brought the ASK to a screeching halt and, before the shark could recover, sucked it into the Fenton Thermos. "Whew. That was all sorts of dumb luck on our part."

The goth girl slumped against the dashboard. "That. Was Insane."

"Insane like a fox." Tucker bragged. "Just call me Tucker Foley. That's 'TF' for 'Too Fine'."

Sam raised her head to stare at him. "Didn't you just say it was all dumb luck?"

"So?" He folded his arms. "I can't be proud of my dumb luck?" Sam scoffed and he laughed at her. "Anyway, I guess we should be catching up with Danny."

"I guess." Sam said in a small, petulant voice. Then she caught herself and shook her head violently. "No. You're right. This is more important than what I'm mad at him about and it's clear that you boys will need all the help you can get. But after this, Danny and I are going to have a long talk."

"I'm sure he'll look forward to that." Tucker started the ASK up again and started off toward Danny' normal patrol route.

She glared at him. "I'm serious, Tucker. Sure, I overreacted, but he's been acting like a little kid this whole time. So he's in deep trouble no matter what excuse he has."

DP-DP-DP

He needed an excuse, Danny decided.

In his experience, anything short of drubbings from Dash could be weaseled out of with a good enough excuse. Unfortunately, Danny Fenton was really bad at excuses.

It wasn't that he wasn't creative, it was that he couldn't lie effectively under pressure, which was why he spent so much time in detention or undertaking Mr. Lancer's increasingly esoteric anti-detention assignments. This time, it was considerably harder. How was he supposed to lie to someone who was in his head? Well not always in his head; she didn't seem to be in there now. But she _could_ be and that was the complication.

Plus, he wasn't really clear on what she was mad about. Curing the mind link thing was just a convenience thing, right? After all, hadn't he already promised not to use it as a toy or to cheat anymore? Didn't she trust him? Or was he really so objectionable that she couldn't stand hearing the occasional stray thought?

Hey, he didn't complain when bits of goth poetry or litanies of horrifying facts about the treatment of animals crossed in from her side. And as for pranks, if she did the same to him, he'd laugh it off.

They were supposed to be friends. This was supposed to be fun. Why _couldn't_ they have fun with it?

If it was him and Tucker in that situation, they'd be enjoying the hell out of it; talking during class without getting in trouble for note passing, messing with each other's minds by sending fake thoughts or insane mental images—everything. By now, they would have a catalog of unfair advantages and abuses of this thing because that's what you _do_ when you get a new super power. Just like they did when they added something new to the belt.

Apparently, Sam had been able to read minds since around the same time he'd discovered the note that led him to the hidden weapons vault and the lab. So she'd had a super power for the same amount of time he had his, but for some reason, she still didn't understand. It disappointed him to realize he'd finally befriended someone else with a power and they couldn't see the upsides of being special.

_Empathy, Sympathy, Guilt._

Just a few flutterings of the latter, but a small flood of the former two, and Danny knew they weren't his. Process of elimination left Sam. He wondered what that was all about. Maybe she found a lost puppy or something.

His ghost alarm went off and he realized he'd been tuning out shouts of panic from a nearby construction site.

Following the sounds of chaos, he found the epicenter: a thirty foot long, ghostly king cobra coiled around a backhoe.

"Welp." Danny sighed and jumped off his bike. "I needed a distraction anyway."

DP-DP-DP

**AN –** Finally got to introduce the ASK! This also makes it extra clear that in the absence of Jack and Maddie, Tuck has stepped up into the outfitter role. Tucker is one of my favorite characters, so he'll get more love than in the real series and won't be so much of a chew toy (Not that he won't remain a chew toy).

As for what Sam is angry over, here we see that she's more upset than angry, and that getting angry is just how she deals with the being upset. I think there's enough information now to guess exactly what she's upset about, but we'll find out next update anyway.

**Next Chapter- Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share Part 4 – **Episode 2's conclusion! Outmatched by the giant cobra, Danny is on the ropes and blinded! Is it possible that the psychic link has some practical applications? And even if it does, will Sam help him? Find out in the next thrilling chapter!


	8. A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share pt4

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 2: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Share (Part 4)**

The backhoe's operator was still inside. Big man though he was, he knew he was no match for a cobra the size of a city bus, and so, when it turn its attention to him, drawing its bone white body up to reveal glossy green scales on its belly and in its hood, and leering at him with red eyes, he completely froze up with terror.

He might have become snake food if a green ghost ray hadn't connected with the side of the creature's, drawing its attention to the black and silver figure of Danny Phantom.

"Don't you have a humongous wicker basket to get back to?" the hero asked, charging up another ghost ray.

The snake dodged the shot and lunged, missing Danny by inches. In the process, it dragged the last few feet of its body out of the mound of dirty it emerged from. Danny had just enough time to notice that before he had to gain altitude to avoid another lighting fast strike.

Snapping off two more ghost rays, he watched them do minimal damage before looping around behind the ghost. "Okay, so you're tough. But I just fought a guy who was a walking tank last week, so how hard can it be to get rid of you?"

The snake slithered around even in the face of more ghost rays bursting over it's scaly form. Again it lunged and again, Danny escaped by floating upward, out of range.

"Huh." said Danny as understanding dawned on him. "You can't fly! I can just stay up here and blast you all day until you're tired enough to get sucked into the thermos!" He laughed like a little kid, teasing and taunting the beast as he peppered it with ghost rays while doing a lazy circle around it.

The cobra lowered its head to catch the attacks on the back of its hood. If it could be said that snakes were capable of expressions, it seemed to be getting annoyed.

"Haha! Stupid snake. You're like the easiest ghost I've ever had to fight and I've fought like ghost kittens and ghost turtles—okay, the turtles were actually really mean and there were a lot of them, but you get the—"

At that point, the cobra decided that enough was enough and raised it's head, mouth thrown wide in a hiss. A narrow spray of green fluid came form its throat and splashed against Danny's face.

"What the?" Danny started, but then the stuff started to tingle painfully against his exposed face. He started to wipe it off frantically, but he wasn't fast enough. The goggles he wore had been his mothers, and they weren't actually designed to protect the eyes so much as providing a platform for various ghost sensors and a pair of small but powerful ecto-guns. The didn't set flush against his face, and they did nothing to keep the ghost venom form running into his eyes.

"Gah!" He managed as the burning started and his vision blurred. His concentration shot, he started to sink in the air. Something moved in the dim and obscured world in front of him and he threw himself backward with all his power, slamming into and destroying a section of then construction site's fence and almost knocking himself cold in the process.

Partially wrapped in the sign tacked on the other side, he sailed out into the middle of the street and hit the ground rolling.

Moments later, the snake smashed down the remnants of the fence and slithered out after him. It's fangs glistened as it hissed its victory over the prone hero.

A motor approached, but the cobra ignored it instead moving closer to Danny with the intent to finish hm.

That proved to be a mistake.

The ecto-blast that hit it was small, but it hit it right in the eye, making its vision swim momentarily.

"Hey! Back off him!" Tucker shouted, climbing out of the ASK with ecto-guns akimbo.

Sam clamored out the other side with her ecto-saber lit. "Tucker, something's wrong with Danny."

"Probably got his bell rung." Tucker agreed, firing both gun at the snake. ?We just need to give the suit time to heal him and then run like hell before that thing decides to attack us."

"No, I mean really wrong." Sam said. "He... I don't think he can see."

"Sam? Tucker?" Danny asked, tearing the sign apart to escape it, though a 'VL' remained stuck to his back.

His sudden movement was unwise, as the snake noticed too. It wasn't of human level intellect by a long shot, but it knew the thing that both attacked and annoyed it and decided that putting an end to it was in its best interest. It hissed and went to strike.

"Danny, move!" Sam shouted.

It seemed to take forever for the words to go from her mouth , to his ears, then finally hit his brain. He almost didn't make it, rolling to his right just ahead of descending fangs. The cobra's bit tore a divot out of the asphalt and it came up spitting the crumbling debris from its mouth.

Adrenaline pumped in Sam's blood. She'd almost watched someone die. She'd almost watched a _friend_ die. And he was still there, still blind and in peril. Shouting took too long. The speed of sound, the time it took to even form thoughts into words were against her. Next time she might not be so lucky.

Sam knew what she had to do. She hated it, but she knew. Danny couldn't see, but it was just that his eyes were blinded. So what he needed as another set of eyes. The principle was sound; they'd been able to convey thoughts and mental images easily. Earlier in the week, when the ghost weasels attacked, Sam had gotten a flash of that fight from Danny's point of view. So why couldn't she just do the same in reverse?

Focusing her will, she stared at the scene before her; the giant snake shaking its head to dislodge pits and pieces of asphalt from its maw while green ecto-blasts bursts up and down its hide like fireworks, and on the ground before it, the black and silver figure of Danny Phantom; and she sent it straight to Danny.

Too soon, the snake turned it attention back to Danny and reared to strike again. With no confirmation from Danny that he was even seeing what she showed him, Sam could only look on in horror.

Danny's fists came up, hesitant at first, but then with urgency. The green flames of twin ghosts rays ignited around them as he swing them up and aimed for the deadly jaws headed for him. Instead of his head, the snake got a mouthful of two full-powered ghost rays that toppled it over to crash into the street.

For a moment, Danny looked dumbfounded, but he swiftly recovered and flew up a few feet instead of standing normally. "Okay. This is so weird." He said. "Like I'm trying to fight by watching myself in a mirror."

A breath of relief escaped Sam and she closed her eyes to collect herself.

"Ah! I'm blind again!"

Her eyes flew open. "Sorry!" She looked at him just in time for him to swoop to his left as the cobra came around again and blast it in the side as it passed. The monster hit the ground, then angrily lashed its tail at him.

"Finally." Danny grumbled and caught the tail in his arms. Pulling hard, he flew straight up, carrying the ghost with him. And as he rose, he began to spin, taking the snake with him. As soon as he built up a good bit of speed, he tilted then angle of his rotation sharply and let go.

The ghostly cobra fell to earth like a meteor, cracking the pavement where it landed and skidding painfully until it slammed into an undestroyed part of the fence. The skittering bits of demolished asphalt didn't have time to settle before the blue glow of a thermos blast flashed over the cobra.

DP-DP-DP

"Alright, dude. Just keep this towel over your face and let the Fenton Foam do its work." Tucker instructed Danny, now back to Fenton, as he screwed the cap back on a partially empty tube of green gunk.

He and Sam had taken him back into the privacy of the now evacuated construction site to recuperate. Danny was propped up against the tread of the backhoe with Sam kneeling on one side and Tucker on the other.

"What is that stuff?" Sam asked, disgusted that Tucker had just poured it into Danny's eyes.

Tucker shrugged and put the tube back into his backpack. "It's ionicly charged ectoplasm. It breaks down weaker ectoplasmic manifestations like ghost venom, slime, or the ectoplasm an injured ghost bleeds. Good for clean-ups or all kind. If you're going to hang with us, I can get you a spray bottle to keep in your house."

She made a face. "Ghost bleed on you that often?"

"And Danny, when he's wearing the suit. Part of how it lets him heal fast, I guess.

Sam nodded and turned back to the third member of their group. "So how are you feeling now, Danny?"

"This has been a really long day." He muttered from beneath the towel. "But thanks for coming back and making sure it wasn't, you know, my _last_ day."

"What are friends for." She reached down and patted his hand.

A small smile came to his face. "So we _are_ still friends then?"

Sam rolled her eyes, but was glad he couldn't see her do it. "We have a fight. Don't tell me you and Tucker never had fights."

"We had a fight this morning over the last hashbrown." Tucker supplied.

"See?"

"Yeah, but..." Danny realized he still didn't understand what was at the core of the argument. "But I really upset you, and I didn't want to... or mean to."

She sighed and sat down the rest of the way beside him, back flat to the tread. "Danny, do you know _why_ I got upset?"

"Just on past history, I'm going to guess because I acted like a goon with the psychic link?"

"Partly." She nodded, remembering the petty annoyances of the last week. "But mostly it's... well I've been able to hear people's thoughts for a little over a year now, and it's never been a good thing for me." Shifting her position, she trained her gaze skyward. "In the space of about a week, I suddenly knew that my friends thought I was a poser and ugly and bitchy and all sorts of other stuff you never want to hear the people you trust most thinking about you.

"That's why I spent freshman year more or less alone, and that's why I've been so anxious to get this psychic link broken as fast as possible. I like spending time with your guys; your the first friends I've had in way too long... And I don't want that ruined by hearing any bad things you might be thinking about me."

Danny sat up a little and took the towel off his face. It came away with stiff, stick strands of spent Fenton Foam that felt disturbingly like the gunk that forms in the corner of a person's eyes. He blinked in the sudden brightness and turned to look at Sam. She was a vague blob of pale skin and black hair beside him with no other detailed evident.

But at least he wasn't blind anymore... well, very blind.

"That's what this was about?" Tucker pulled a bottle of water and a roll of paper towels from his bag and passed them to Danny to wash the junk out of his eyes. "Sam, no offense, but your friends before sound like jerks. Now me and Danny here might not be perfect, but we're not the kind of people that go thinking stuff like that about our friends."

Danny tore off a wad of paper towels and wet them with the water before using them to wipe his eyes. "That's right. Really, Sam: we've been like this for a weak and I've had zero control, right? Don't you think I would have thought something like that by now if I really felt that way?"

Not fully ready to accept that things were that easy, Sam kept her eyes on the sky. "It took a while for them too." She would have said more, but Danny's thoughts flitted through her head and she felt the hot spike of panic and hurt that she didn't believe him and an unfounded measure of guilt at the idea that he even might think those sorts of things.

There was truth there too. He really didn't think any of those things. Or anything really negative. In just a week, it seemed that he'd become as comfortable around her as he was with Tucker. Fast friends; it was remarkable to here how fast.

She finally relented and looked over at him. He squinted bloodshot eyes at her, still seeing a swarming vision of light and dark.

"But it's not really fair to you not to trust you guys after you trusted me with the whole Danny Phantom thing." She chewed her lip and fought down the anxiety that came with the next words. "So you really think this thing could be fun, huh? I never really thought of it as a superpower before..." His eyes widened and she held in a laugh. "Yeah, I heard that."

"Sorry." He said looking away.

"Don't be. You actually had _fun_ with your powers. Me..." She shrugged. "Okay, so how about I make you a deal: We do the meditation thing and get a handle on this and then we actually give the psychic link a fair chance as a superpower? I figure it's only fair since it came in handy saving you today."

Danny grinned and looked back at her, seeing something less indistinct now. "Deal! Friends?"

She returned the grin. "Friends."

"Was that so hard?" Tucker chided, earning a glare from both of them. "Hey, don't start with me: I didn't do anything: that was the two of you."

"You did wind up talking me down." Sam pointed out. "Thanks."

"No problem." said Tucker. "But we still have our ghost animal problem to worry about."

Danny sat up the rest of the way. "Actually. Sam? Do you mind if we try that 'seeing through your eyes' trick again? I think I know where those ghosts are coming from."

DP-DP-DP

It took some intangible digging through the mounded dirt before Danny Phantom's hand finally closed over something and he pulled it out: a Fenton Thermos... except not.

It was the same size and general configuration, but the lid lacked the ring that made it look like a standard thermos cup and was ridged for easy screwing and unscrewing. The casing wasn't metal either, but white plastic, and the tracings of ectoplasm infused into it were magenta instead of green. There was also a massive, red glowing crack in the side which emitted ghostly moans.

"Where the heck did that come from?" asked Tucker. "That's not one of your parents' designs."

Danny turned the thing over in his hands. "Maybe it was a prototype."

"And what's it doing here?" Sam wondered.

Tucker slapped a piece of ecto-infused duct tape (possibly one of Jack Fenton's greatest inventions) over the crack. "A strange thermos in the middle of nowhere filled with mutated ghost animals? This is going to take some investigation."

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "But hey, Team Phantom is on the case, right?"

"You're officially part of the team now?" Danny laughed.

She took the Fenton Fisher out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "Just never ask me to go fishing again."

The trio all laughed as they headed off.

DP-DP-DP

Miles away, a dark figure was watching the scene at the mound unfold with a look of disappointment. "Even with a swarm of ghosts in Amity, they still didn't show up." He sighed. "I suppose they really are gone. Oh Madeline, Madeline, wherefore art thou, Madeline? I could hardly believe it when they said you disappeared. And in your place this ghost boy? This 'Inviso Bill'? A third rate symphony, I'm sure."

He rewound and reviewed the video feed from the mound. If he noticed the pair of ghost weasels slinking into the lab and quietly letting themselves back into their cages, he gave no indication. "If anyone knows what happened to you, it will be him: he appeared on the scene soon after your disappearance, according to the newspaper. I'll have to redouble my efforts to learn more about you, boy."

Another rewind and review and he took a closer look at the boy's companions. "And what a coincidence—it seems Inviso Bill keeps some rather interesting company."

Rising from his seat, he tossed his gray and white streaked ponytail and reached for his cellphone. As he dialed, he spared a glare for the weasels. "You two again? You keep turning up like a pair of bad pennies." The rant was cut short when the party on the other end of the phone picked up.

"Ah, hello. I trust you're doing well? Ah. Very good. Now listen: You'll have the house to yourself next weekend. I have business to attend to out of town..."

DP-DP-DP

**AN –** And Episode 2 is in the can! Thank you all for the great reviews. I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am writing it. Updates for Menace in Mexico and X-men REset are in the pipeline, it's just that I've got the creative spark for this story right now and want to strike while the iron is hot.

Yes, that's dear old Vlad at the end there, setting up out myth arc. And if it wasn't him that caused the Fentons' disappearance, who did and why? That's a very good question to be answered in the future.

**Next Chapter: Episode 3: All You Desire Part 1 – **Tucker buys a genie bottle at a swap meet and gains the services of Desiree, the Wishing Ghost. Danny is skeptical of any ghost, Sam is out to set her free from her servitude and Tuck might be letting the whole thing go to his head. Can Team Phantom avoid dangerous temptation? And just who are Casper High's new favorite lovebirds? You won't believe it. The pairing absolutely nobody demanded!


	9. All You Desire Part 1

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and all many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 3: All You Desire (Part 1)**

One area of the lab at FentonWorks was cleared of any examples of Jack and Maddie Fenton's mad scientist credentials, serving as a training area and a testing ground for Team Phantom and the newest weapons in their arsenal.

Danny was stretching in one corner while Sam was taking stock of the various Fenton Gadgets she'd picked up from the living room on her way down. After almost two weeks, she saw still settling on what she preferred to keep with her at all times. So far she was was permanently equipped with a thermos of her own (which she'd marked by drawing around the rim with her purple lipstick), her ecto-saber (now sporting a carefully painted bat on the hilt), and a compact, pistol style ecto-gun.

Tucker was sitting on a tool bench, typing away in his PDA: 'Ghost Hunter's Log: October 10. Today, I started my official ghost hunter's log, because if I ever get a shot at Valerie again, I'll have proof that I'm no ghost lover. Anyway, we're also having a trial run of my patented Phantom Freezers; an ecto-powered freeze ray based on technology we salvaged from an actual freezer that the Fentons invented.

'I'll be monitoring integration with the Ghost Battlin' Belt, plus some upgrades I've made to the belt's software. Sam will be on fire control, and as always, Danny will be guinea pig. Results pending.'

"Hey Danny, are you ready?" He called, switching the PDA over to its remote monitoring function. He also turned on the camera.

"Ready to go." Danny replied brightly. "This is going to be awesome." He did a few karate moves in the general direction of the hay bales they would be using as target practice.

Sam put down the weapons she was perusing and picked up the heavy fire extinguisher. "So am I. Anyone else think it's funny we're worried about fires while testing an ice weapon?"

Danny made a face at her and laughed. "That's because you're not the one who might be catching fire. Hey Tuck, remember when you were first trying to increase the fire rate on the ghost rays?"

"Heh. Yeah. It's a good thing you heal quick in the suit."

"So is he on fire often?" Sam asked. With a teasing look on her face, she went to sit next to Tucker on the bench so as to have a better vantage point.

He shrugged. "Not as often as you'd think given how much energy goes through that belt. It's a miracle he's not _always_ on fire."

"My confidence is just soaring over here." Danny said. "Can we start now?"

Tucker reached under his seat and pulled out a cardboard box, from which he pulled the Phantom Freezers. They resembled brass knuckles in that they slipped over the fingers of each hand, but instead of raised knuckles, the backs of the devices were four inch wide disks made of a ceramic material in a metal cage, with plastic holes cut out on top that exposed slightly glowing blue liquid. Aside from that, they were a dull tan color, because why bother with a paint job for prototypes?

"Yeah man, switch to Phantom and I'll sent them your way.

A sharp nod from Danny and he reached down to turn the dial on the belt. "We are go for ghosts!" Crackling, black ectoplasm rushed out and engulfed him, transforming him in minutes into Danny Phantom. He shot into the air while pulling on his signature goggles; a new pair that protected his eyes in addition to their other functions.

"Let's do this." Tucker slung the Freezers up to his friend. "Phantom Freezers: Go!"

Danny turned, and with the superior reflexes granted to him by the suit, thrust his fingers through the devices. The suit reacted instantly to them, sending out black tendrils that swarmed into them and covered them over until only the glowing blue fluid showed through.

"Alright!" Tucker grinned at his PDA's screen. "Seventy-five percent integration right off the bat. Okay, buddy, take your shot: it works just like your ghost rays,

"Sweet. Let's see what these things can do then!" He charged them up, seeing blue energy building up over his hands instead of green. Bringing his hands together, he took careful aim and let fly.

A burst of green sparks flew from one of the Freezers and suddenly, the mass of blue energy crackling around his joined hands turned into a solid block of ice. Seconds later, the suit also spat green sparks and dissipated.

For a second, Danny hung there, five feet n the air, with a look of disbelief. Then he crashed to the floor.

"Danny! Are you okay?" Sam tossed the fire extinguisher aside to go check on him.

Meanwhile, Tucker chuckled sheepishly and rechecked his data. "Oops. Looks like they shorted out the belt. Good thing we caught that in beta, hey buddy?"

Luckily for Danny, the ice had shattered when he landed, but his arms were now freezing up to his elbows. "How about next time, _you_ where the belt and use the experimental ghost weapons and _I_ sit safe and sound out of the way." he said through chattering teeth.

By then, Sam had reached him and quickly knelt to check him over for any breaks or bruises, then closed her eyes to check his mind and make sure he wasn't faking being unhurt. "Maybe you shouldn't fly around when you don't know what your gear is going to do." She scolded.

"I'll take that under advisement after I get my arms amputated for frostbite."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, you big baby. Here, give me those." She grabbed his hands and started rubbing them briskly between her own. A second later, a moment of synchronicity fell over them as, together they looked down at their clasped hands, then to one another, then decided to look at the same far away point in the lab that wasn't the other's eyes. Both turned red at the exact same time.

But they didn't actually move their hands.

"You know, we've got gloves." Tucker said, only half paying attention.

Sam finally let go, glancing at Danny a moment before standing up. "Um. Right. I'll go get you those gloves then." She walked a little too quickly and far too stiffly to the box where the heavy hazmat gloves that went with the Fenton jumpsuits were kept.

"So," She said on her way back, "There's this battle of the bands thing going on at the park today, and I hear that new local artist everyone's talking about is going to be there—what was her name, Amber? Whatever. You guys up for it?"

"Sorry Sam, but no can do." said Tucker, "Today's the last day of the bi-monthly Amity Swap Meet."

Danny accepted the gloves gratefully and pulled them onto his hands. "Yeah, sorry, Sam, but we can't afford to miss this."

The goth girl gave them an incredulous look. "A six hour free concert and you two want to go to a swap meet? I think I'm going to need to confiscate your teenager cards because apparently, you two are old women."

Danny snorted, but Tucker was quick to defend. "Hey! It's not like that. This is business: where do you think we get the extra parts for upgrading and maintaining the Fenton gear?"

"Actually, that's where my parents got most of the stuff to make it in the first place." Danny pointed out, then smiled at Sam. "You don't have to go though. We won't be there for six hours, so how about we meet you there?"

She smiled back and they caught each other's eyes just a second too long. "That sounds like a plan. Have fun fighting the fanny pack crowd over vacuum motors."

Tucker scoffed. "I _wish_ we could find some quality vacuum motors."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You need to learn how to make better wishes."

DP-DP-DP

**All You Desire**

Tucker lounges in a deck chair. Desiree is behind him, her ghostly tail wrapping around him as if to tie him there. She's smirking and feeding him a bunch of grapes while her shadow on the wall looms threateningly. Nearby is a door that's being kicked in by an irate looking Sam and Danny. Danny is in Phantom mode with hands blazing, Sam is duel wielding ecto-pistols.

Tagline: The episode you WISHED for.

DP-DP-DP

A few hours and some adjustments to get the Ghost Battlin' Belt back in working order later, and the day found Tucker and Danny at the Amity Park Swap meet.

"Man, the pickings are kinda slim this month aren't they?" Tucker said while examining an elderly toaster.

"Yeah." Danny was tagging along behind, slowly developing a hernia as e hefted the three sizable boxes full of junk they'd already purchased. "Really slim."

"People are just selling too much junk." Tucker continued, oblivious to his best friend's plight. "Like that last table: an old copy of the constitution, an old flag with thirteen stars, Action Comics #1, Amazing Fantasy #15, sheets of stamps with the plane printed upside down—but nothing worthwhile at all! Not a single old camera or circuit board! Why do they even let people pedal that kind of junk at the meet?"

"Can we buy a wheelbarrow or something?" Danny grunted under his load.

"Huh? Sure, Danny." Tucker wandered over to another table and looked at the owner. He knew her well: Babazita, an old lady with a hairy wart on her chin, wearing a gypsy costume. She swore up and down that everything she sold was a mystic curio of some wort and also told fortunes. Danny called her a fraud, but Tucker figured that if ghosts were real and so were psychics, why not everything else?

His eyes fell on a pink, crystal bottle with an elaborate stopper. There was a sign propped up next to it: 'Genuine Genie in a Bottle. Genie included. The owner is granted unlimited wishes. Warning: do not break bottle. $50 obo.'

"Hmm..."

"I know that 'hmm'." Danny's voice came from behind a wall of boxes. "That's a bad 'hmm'. That's the noise you make before Danny goes 'ouch'."

Tucker chuckled. "Relax, man. I'm just looking at this bottle. It says it gives you infinite wishes."

"Indeed it does." Babazita approached them with swiftness and dexterity that belied her age or hunched, plump form. "That bottle contains Desiree, the Wishing Ghost, and she is bound to grant every wish the bottle's owner makes."

"Did you just say 'ghost;?" Danny asked, finally having enough and tossing the boxes down. Babazita just nodded. He narrowed his eyes. "And if it grants you your every wish, why are you selling it for just fifty bucks?"

The old woman shrugged and did a poor job of looking innocent. "Bad economy?"

Danny's eyes narrowed more.

Tucker, however, ignored the display and took out his ghost alarm, bringing it close to the bottle. Sure enough, it went off. "Well, at the very least, there really is a ghost in there."

"And that makes it okay... how?" Danny asked.

Tucker reached out and gently slapped Danny's cheek in a chiding, condescending manner. "Danny, Danny, Danny. Have you never watched TV?" He turned to Babazita. "Let me guess: this ghost is majorly disgruntled and just loves twisting any wish someone tries to make, right?"

Babazita nodded.

Tucker smirked. "I'll give you thirty bucks."

"Forty." the old woman said automatically.

"What are you _doing_?!" Danny exploded.

But Tucker wasn't listening. "For a ghost that twists all my wishes? I should have offered twenty."

Babazita made a rude noise. "Thirty-five."

Tucker slapped the money into her palm. "Sold!" Then he grabbed up the bottle.

"Have you gone insane?!" Danny stared in abject horror at what just happened. "That was the last of our money—my allowance and yours. We were supposed to get corn dogs before the concert." He was starting to whine and caught himself, "And you spent it on a defective genie?"

The grin on Tucker's face made him suddenly pine for the 'hmm'. "Not defective; spiteful. That means this ghost doesn't _have_ to screw up wishes, they just want to. All we need to do is make sure they don't want to. Two words, Danny: Genre Savvy." He started rubbing the bottle.

"This is an absolutely terrible idea." Danny warned, but by then it was too late.

Green smoke issued from the bottle and from it emerged an exaggeratedly feminine shape. She was larger than life, seven feet tall if she'd actually had legs instead of a ghostly tail that led back to the mouth of the bottle, with flawless, green skin, and inky black hair that fell over one eye and trialed down beyond her impossibly thin waist and ample hips.

Desiree the Wishing Ghost observed them with mischief in her one visible eye. Her arms were held stiffly down at her sides, wrists bent, as if the manacles on them were weighing them down. With a confident smirk, she tossed her hair and said, "Your heart's desire is my command."

"Watch and learn." said Tucker, and cleared his throat. "Okay, I wish that you'll answer my next five questions truthfully and without trying to hide your meaning."

One of her eyebrows twitched. "Done."

"Great. I'm Tucker, by the way. Tucker Foley. That's TF for 'Too Fine."

"A-are you hitting on a ghost?" Danny asked.

"So what? She's kinda hot." said Tucker.

"She's a corpse!"

"Actually, I'm post-human consciousness and raw emotion manifesting a physical form through the psycho-reactive medium of ectoplasm." Desiree said haughtily. "My corpse hasn't been in the equation for centuries."

Tucker smirked at his friend. "She so schooled you." While Danny fumed, Tucker put his plan into motion. "Okay, Question the First: Do you plan to twist all my wishes?"

She laughed. "Of course. How else am I going to have fun?"

"Fair enough." Tucker nodded, "But... Question the Second: Can I get around that by wishing that you wouldn't sabotage my wishes."

Another musical laugh. "Nice try, but no. You're not the first person to come up with that one."

He shrugged. "I figured, but it was worth a shot. Luckily, TV has taught my the probable solution. Question the Third: Would you choose sabotage my wishes if I promised to set you free?"

This time, she scoffed. "That old thing again? Kid, everyone promises they'll free the genie and they never do. It's just a trick because they think wanting to go free makes use stupid. Promise all you want; I'm never going to believe you."

Tucker paused in thought, brow knitting in concentration.

"Good job, Tuck." Danny said petulantly, "You wasted our corn dog money on absolutely nothing."

"Don't count me out yet." Tucker pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Question the Forth: Would you choose not to sabotage my wishes if I could guarantee you would go free?"

Desiree's expression changed to wary and she hovered a bit lower in the air. "Yes. I think I would. But let's face it, you wouldn't give up infinite wishes. That's why the made the bottle infinite."

"Oh yeah?" Tucker asked. "Watch me. After all, some free wishes that work are better then infinite wishes that screw me." He rubbed the bottle again just for the drama of the thing. "I wish that if you grant me wishes without purposefully sabotaging, twisting, or otherwise making my wishes have bad consequences for one month, you would then go free and lose the power to grant wishes."

The ghost's one visible eye widened and she raised her hand as if not believing what she was doing. "So you have wished it, so shall it be."

Tucker shot both her and Danny a self satisfied smirk. "Now: Question the Fifth: Do you plan to twist any of my wishes?"

Desiree looked pensive for a moment, then shook her head. "No. No I do not, Master."

DP-DP-DP

The next day was a Monday, and as was their new tradition, Sam left her house at seven to meet Danny and Tucker for the walk to school. Except this morning, she found only a disgruntled looking Danny waiting on the sidewalk outside her home.

"Hey, what happened to you two yesterday? I waited the whole time and you never showed up." She said by way of greeting, then looked around. "And where's Tucker?"

"Some things came up." Danny's teeth were grinding.

Sam raised an eyebrow and prodded him mentally, trying to get him to calm down. "Are you okay, Danny?" She put her hand on his shoulder, instantly feeling the tension that ran all through his body.

He sighed. He didn't mean to take it out on her and he could feel that she was worried about him. "Sorry Sam. It's... been a stressful night that doesn't look like it'll be getting any better."

She frowned. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Tucker? Did you two have a fight?"

"Not yet..." Danny muttered.

Before Sam could follow up on that, her ghost alarm went off. She went for her purse, but Danny's hand closed over her wrist and he shook his head. "What?"

"Just wait for it." He said wearily and turned to look meaningfully at the corner.

Sam looked at the offending hand and considered twisting it to teach him a lesson. "Danny, you're seriously freaking me out. Just tell me what happened last night and..."

She trailed off because Tucker rounded the corner, but he was not alone. Walking beside him, carrying his books, was a girl almost a head taller than him with cinnamon brown skin, large, hazel eyes, and waves of silky, black hair that hung to her waist and fell over one eye.

"That." Said Danny as if the whole thing had aged him by decades. "That's what happened."

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** And so it begins.

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Phantom Reboot, which happens to be Reboot!Desiree's debut. This is based a bit on 'What You Want', where Desiree is loosed on the world because some brat broke her bottle. I always wondered what would happen if the bottle wasn't broken, so there you go.

For all of you wondering, the 'paring absolutely no one demanded' is TuckerxDesiree. Yes, I'm going there. Trust me on this; by the end of this episode, you will be a fan of the ship. And for those of you who don't like that, I also threw in some DxS teasing too. I'm going to be playing with their relationship too; but in a fun way. Don't worry, I'm DannyxSam all the way, I just have some ideas on how to get there.

A big theme here will be underscoring the fact that since he is not a halfa here, Danny has no empathy toward ghosts and it borders on prejudice. This will be important later. Another running plot, I'm trying to do is showing the actual R&D the team is doing with the various tech.

One last thing: if you want to see a power or piece of Fenton Tech to show up later, let me know in reviews. I already have plans for how a tech based Overshadowing will work.

**Next Chapter: Episode 3: All you Desire Part 2 – **Tucker has Desiree pose as his girlfriend to increase his stock with Casper High's female population despite Danny and Sam's protests. And when wishes start to go wrong, is Desiree really to blame? Either way, there's about to be chaos at Casper in our next exciting chapter!


	10. All You Desire Part 2

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 3: All You Desire (Part 2)**

In his own mind, Tucker Foley was the ultimate genius. For just thirty dollars (and ten dollars of that were Danny's), he'd successfully earned himself all the wishes he could every dream of. The only caveat was that he was now on a one month time limit, and he still had to test Desiree to make sure she hadn't twisted his first wish and was managing to lie.

Luckily, he was the ultimate planner too, and had it all mapped out; how he could test her with small wishes that couldn't fail catastrophically while giving him the best possible results immediately.

The first order of business was to protect his investment: wishing that his parents and Jazz couldn't see or hear Desiree unless Tucker told her they should. That meant no one who shouldn't know about his and his friends' extracurricular activities wouldn't get wise to the act that he suddenly had a ghost following him everywhere.

Next, he wished that Desiree could take the form of a human girl his age so she could be visible at school. And then came the clever bit: he asked—asked, not wished—her to pose as his girlfriend visiting from out of state. It wasn't that he planned on dating a ghost, though the human form she'd taken was incredibly hot, but the idea ran that other girls would see that yes, Tucker Foley really was such a catch that even a 'girl' like Desiree wanted him and so his stock in school would rise.

The best part was, it wasn't a wish, so she couldn't sabotage it with her powers.

Sure, Danny was upset, and had practically run to FentonWorks rather than sleep under the same roof as a ghost, but he would get over it once he saw the genius of it. Plus, Tucker was sure that Sam would understand; seeing as how she hadn't bought into Danny's 'all ghosts are evil' spiel before, and he figured they could peer pressure him into accepting Desiree together.

DP-DP-DP

Sam looked from Danny to the approaching couple. "You're jealous that Tucker met a girl?" she guessed and immediately gave him a disappointed look. "Danny, I thought you would be happy for him: he's your best friend."

"Not the issue Sam." Danny shook his head. "She," He pointed at Desiree, "Is a ghost. A genie ghost. Tucker bought her at the swap meet. My _idiot_ best friend used _my_ money to by an evil spirit from another dimension so he could make wishes _and pretend to be his girlfriend_."

There was one point in that he wanted to drive home, but it wasn't the one that stood out to Sam. She turned a baleful glare on the techno-geek.

"Hey guys!" Tucker said with a broad grin and a wave as he and Desiree got within earshot.

"Tucker Foley!" Sam planted her fists on her hips, and gave him a withering look that he recognized from his mother telling him the tenth time to take out the trash. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Yeah!" Danny folded his arms and came to stand behind her, forming what he thought was a united front.

"You bought a person?" Sam continued. "Seriously? That's... that's slavery! You need to set her free right this instant!"

"Ye—wait, what?" Danny faltered, looking at her agog.

Tucker drew back, hand on his chest, wounded expression on his face. "Et tu, Sam? I would have thought you would be the reasonable one here—think of all the good we can do with a month's worth of wishes."

"None of that good even counts if you're doing it with slave labor." Sam growled.

"Pfft. Desiree's not a slave." Tucker turned to the ghost in question, "Are ya, Desi?"

A mischievous grin crossed her face. "Of course not, Master."

Sam glared at Tucker. Tucker blanched and pulled his beret down over his eyes. "She's just joking. She does that. Please tell them you're joking, Desi."

Desiree put a finger to her lips, considering. It wasn't a wish, so she didn't _have_ to comply. Still, it would be a show of good faith. "We have a deal, Samantha: if I grant his wishes without twisting them for one month, and he has a standing wish that will set me free. I see it as a rather good deal."

"Except he should just let you go without any caveats." Sam refused to let Tucker off the hook for this latest atrocity. "And he's making you pretend to be his girlfriend? That's... so many levels of wrong, I might need a spreadsheet to keep track of them."

"It's not as bad as it could be." Desiree said with a gleefully devilish look in her eyes again. "When I was alive, I was a harem girl."

Sam choked.

Danny smirked at the back of her head. Served her right, for suggesting letting such a crazy powerful ghost go free. But he patted her on the back anyway.

"You guys are looking at this all wrong." Tucker cut in. "It's more like a retroactive reward for freeing her: that makes her life better, and so for the next month, she'll make our lives better. You'll change your minds once you see what I mean- Hey, Desi: I wish for breakfast for three: A Nasty Burger Breakfast Combo #3 for me and Danny, and a Southwestern Eggless Omelet Sandwich for Sam."

Desiree shifted Tucker's books to her other arm and waved the other in the air. "Of course, Master."

"And... you can stop calling me Master. Please?"

DP-DP-DP

Every morning, Casper High's A-list all met at Nasty Burger for breakfast, gossiping, and planning a long hard day of superiority and bullying. In their usual booth, Kwan was sitting between Valerie and Star on one side, while Dash and Paulina shared the other.

Dash had his arm stretched across the back of the booth, hovering just over Paulina's shoulders. Dating got a little nebulous in the A-list, especially with Paulina's overt crush on Inviso Bill, but Dash didn't want it to look like it might be okay for Kwan to make a move on her.

Not that Kwan noticed; he was perfectly comfortable whee he was, thank you very much, and anyway, he didn't have it in him to do that sort of thing to his best friend even if he wanted to. "Man, Dash, that was a killer party you threw Saturday." He said, unwrapping his breakfast sandwich.

"You know it!" Grinned Dash, doing the same. "But that's nothing compared to my birthday next month. My parents are letting me hire a Dumpty Humpty cover band and everything!" He raised his sandwich to his lips, only to get a mouthful of green mist that swirled and eddied up from where his food used to be.

He sat back in confusion and shock, finding the same mist dancing over Kwan's tray and Paulina's.

Paulina was the first to regain the ability to speak. "My omelet! What just happened?"

Valerie and Star, whose food was still exactly where it should be, looks at each other, shrugged, then each took a bite before one of their friends decided to try and beg some off them.

"This is like, mondo weird." Kwan complained. "Do you think it was a ghost?"

This suggestion made Paulina's eyes to light up. "A ghost? Do you think this means Inviso Bill will show up to give me a fresh omelet?"

Dash frowned. He couldn't compete with Inviso Bill; that guy was the coolest. But he did know what always made him feel better whenever he felt confused, inadequate, gassy, or just plain bored. "I don't know what's going on here, but I think we all know what we have to do now."

"Go and order more food?" Kwan asked as his stomach growled.

Paulina scoffed and turned to Dash, delighted. "Oh! I know! Pick on people less popular than us to make us feel better!"

DP-DP-DP

"Dude, come on. Just eat." Tucker waved the bag of conjured Nasty Burger food under Danny's nose.

"No, Tucker! I'm not eating ghost food. It'll probably give me food poisoning or something." Danny was keeping his distance from his friend and especially from Desiree. To avoid the offered bag, he shuffled over to Sam's other side, using the goth as a shield.

Tucker made an unhappy noise. "Even Sam ate it and she's just as mad as you are at me over this."

"I only ate so I could split it with Desiree; because _someone_ didn't even consider wishing up some breakfast for her."

"The whole 'being dead' thing sort of makes eating moot." said Desiree, then grinned. "But that was tasty, I have to admit."

Danny sighed and looked at Sam. "Can you please stop sympathizing with her? It's going to make it that much harder on you when we have to thermos her and dump her in the Ghost Zone."

"She's right here, ya know?" Tucker gestured to Desiree. "You don't have to talk like that."

The argument went no farther, because they were interrupted by a bellowed 'FENTON!"

"Oh, this day gets better and better." groaned Danny. He was too upset and distracted to even be afraid at his point. "What do you want, Dash? It's too early for you to have flunked another test."

The alpha bully bore down on Danny with the rest of the A-list not far behind. "Oh, I'm already having a bad day Fen-toenail. And I'm..." He paused as he saw the Nasty burger bag and smelled its contents. "Is that a Breakfast Combo #3? Now I'm really mad—that's the same breakfast the disappeared on me!"

Danny shot an accusatory glance at Desiree, who grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

Dash ignored this exchange. "Paulina, you can mock the goth, Kwan, I guess you're stuck with the techno-geek."

Wasting no time, Paulina sauntered around Dash to eye Sam appraisingly. "Hey, Manson. Black again? I have two words for you: Past-Els."

"That's one word." Sam deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Kwan moseyed up to Tucker, hands in his pockets. "Um, so I guess I'm supposed to give you a pounding now. Is... now a good time for you?"

"No really."

"Oh." Kwan said with a genial nod. "Well okay then. When's a good time then? Do you have study hall fifth period?"

Tucker wasn't used to dealing with Kwan and was slow to answer. "Actually, I don't really have any slots open to get beaten up this week."

Again, Kwan just nodded. "Yeah, I get it. There's a lot of quizzes this week. Oh hey! Maybe I can just make fun of your clothes like Paulina does. Like... okay, your hat is... actually, I like your hat; I'm not really a hat person myself, they never look good on me."

"O...kay?" Tucker said.

Dash was advancing on Danny, pounding his fist into his palm. "I'm gonna hit you so hard, Fentonio so hard, your girlfriend over there is gonna feel it."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Danny said automatically.

Sam, who couldn't really have cared less about what Paulina had to say about her, wheeled around to look at Dash. "I'm not his girlfriend!"

"Pfft." Paulina flipped her hair. "Whatever, Lovebirds."

"We are not Lovebirds" the pair shouted.

"Why do people keep saying that?" Sam asked no one in particular.

"Let's see." Tucker started to enumerate on his fingers. "You went to the Fall Formal together, when Dash accused you of going out the first time, Danny took you in a manly fashion and dragged you onto the dance floor, you sit next to each other in nearly every class, you go over to our house or Fenton Works almost every day after school and sometimes people could swear you each knew what the other one was thinking. Did I miss anything?"

Sam and Danny gawked at him for a long moment. The fact that the entire A-list, plus Desiree were stifling laughter wasn't helping, nor was the fact that they were blushing hotly.

"Shut up Tucker!" They both cried, turned on their heels in perfect synch, and stalked off.

Tucker cackled like a mad man as the first bell rang. "Man, that was comedy gold." He took Desiree by the elbow and guided her toward his first class. "Come on, Desi, we've got a long day ahead."

As those two left, something clicked in Dash's head as she was the techno-geek and the new girl leaving together. Very close together. "Wait a minute—Foley's with _her_?!"

DP-DP-DP

True to Tucker's master plan, by lunch, the rumor mill was working at full speed, and with maximum distortion.

Sam and Danny sat at a table in the cafeteria, watching the apparent hottest couple in Casper go through the lunch line.

"According to the buzz in the girl's locker room, they've been dating online for months and she fell in love with his words before ever seeing his face." Sam glared dagger's at the back of his head.

Danny savagely speared a meatball with his fork. "Five different people swear they know she used to be home schooled and have seen them making out in the park before today. Then two girls asked me if they were 'actually serious'." He looked to the ceiling for deliverance. "How can his stupid plan be working? What just god would let that happen?"

"He's been making her carry his books." Sam said venomously, ignoring Danny's despair. "He's become a complete pig."

Danny glanced at her. "Guys carry their girlfriends' books like that all the time. I'm not sure how that's worse then her being an undead monster. Oh, and did you notice? His wish totally backfired this morning. She's messing with him and he doesn't even notice!"

By then Tucker and Desiree reached the table and took their seats; Tucker beside Danny, Desiree beside Sam. Whether it was out of deference to Sam's earlier complaints, or Desiree's choice, the ghost girl had a tray of her own.

"Hey guys." Tucker smiled, only to be met with a pair of hateful looks. "fine, be that way. We'll win ya over eventually." Since his friends were giving him the cold shoulder, he directed his attention to Desiree. "Sorry about the food, by the way. They really ought to give us steak or something."

Then a light bulb came on in his head. "Hey, why not? Desi: I wish the cafeteria had steak on the menu."

Desiree looked up, delighted, and raised her hands. "You heart's desires are my command." Sparkling green mist washed over the cafeteria. For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then Sam's salad and the one on Desiree's tray transformed into juicy, perfectly cooked porterhouses. Exclamations from the lunch line and at the tables quickly revealed that the same change was happening elsewhere. The word 'salad' on the big menu board even became 'steak'.

Sam threw her fork down and leapt out of her seat as if her plate was now covered with venomous snakes. "Tucker! What. Did. You. Do?"

"Heh... um, wished for steak?" he asked innocently.

"It wasn't all his fault." Danny said, also standing and pointing at Desiree. "It was her. This is the second wish she's twisted."

Desiree held up her hands as if to show they were empty. "That wasn't twisting, those were honest, unfortunate mishaps. Tucker didn't ask for me to conjure those meals from thin air, so they had to come from somewhere; it was just a coincidence you knew the people they were taken from." She gestured to the salad. "And this, this was just that, well to add steak to the menu, it had to replace something. It's easily fixed: Tucker just has to make another wish..."

"That's right." Tucker said. "In fact, I wish Sam had her salad back."

As soon as the words left his mouth Desiree passed her hands over Sam's salad-turned-steak, removing the 'turned-steak' part. "See? All better now."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sam groaned. It was like the poor ghost didn't understand she was being exploited. "You know what? I'm just going to go eat outside. I need some fresh air."

"Me too." Danny said, not even hiding his disdain for what was going on. He picked up his own Tray and Sam's too before both of them left the cafeteria.

Desiree folded her arms and gave their backs a cross look. "These are your friends? They're not very pleasant."

"They're just not used to you." Tucker assured. "Plus, the wish backfires didn't help."

"I didn't do that on purpose!" said Desiree, "Wishes aren't as simple as everyone thinks, you know. It involved rewriting reality as we know it every time. Of course there are going to be mistakes." She turned up her nose. "And if I was twisting the wishes, that Kwan boy really would have beaten you up and the food would have made you sick. So there."

Tucker gave his steak a suspect look, then shrugged and started cutting into it anyway. "Hey, I believe you. They're just harder to convince is all."

She nodded absently still deep in thought. "Hey, why don't you make some more wishes? Like you said your friend is a ghost fighting superhero—why not ask for his powers and show him up?"

Tucker laughed. "We share a room and his powers come in belt form. If I want to be the Phantom, I can do it anytime."

"Oh." She said, disappointed, and picked at her food.

"What was that all about anyway?" Tucker asked. "Trying to tempt me into making bad wishes?"

She shrugged. "No. Granting wishes is just fun, and you've been stingy with them for someone who's only got a month."

"What, so you actually _like_ granting wishes?"

"It's the only perk of the job." She half smiled at him, then frowned. "I didn't start twisting wishes until that stupid bottle. People can become so heartless when they have infinite wishes."

Tucker nodded and sat back, thinking. Finally he grinned. "If you want to grant some wishes, why not grant yourself some?"

She rolled her eyes. "Doesn't work that way."

"Two words: Genre Savvy." Tucker winked. "Let's give this try: what was your favorite food before... you know..."

Desiree smirked. Humans always had a problem with the death thing. They couldn't get past it. "Sugared dates." She replied, "If I could have, I would have eaten nothing else."

Tucker grinned. "Okay then. I wish for a big bowl of sugar dates."

"Seriously?" Even as she granted the wish, Desiree looked completely shocked.

Tucker shrugged. "I don't see why you can't get some enjoyment out of this whole month of wishes deal too. Don't tell her I said this, but she's right—it's pretty wrong that I paid thirty bucks to make you do whatever I want, even if it is just a month."

Her eyes flitted between the smiling boy and the clay bowl she has conjured between them, overflowing with sugared dates. With extreme caution, she reached out and picked one up, examining it briefly before putting it into her mouth. ""You know, I might actually get to like this arrangement."

DP-DP-DP

Since the 50's, anyone working in the cafeteria of Casper High all knew of a spot in the kitchen that just didn't feel right to stand in. They would get a chill up their spine, a gurgle in the stomach, and the irresistible urge to cook with lard.

Few knew that it was the exact sight of a fatal slip and fall accident back in 1957, and none at all would have drawn a connection between the two.

That spot flared green now, preceding a green skinned woman in a pink muumuu and a pink hair net, carrying an oversized spatula, to rise from it and look around curiously.

"Oh dear." She said in a sweet, timid voice. "It looks like someone has made a change to the menu."

In the blink of an eye, her demeanor changed and her white hair broke free of the hair net, whipping the air like Medusa's serpents. "THIS WILL NOT STAND!" She bellowed.

DP-DP-DP

**AN: **I've been waiting for a while to write this specific chapter for some many reasons.

I've always had a soft spot for Desiree; her back story is pretty sad, and her 'No Man May Touch Me Unless I Wish It!' tirade speaks to an even sadder past, possibly sadder than Ember's implied past. She also strikes me as more of a trickster than a villain (though her joy at Tucker's fate in What You Want hurts this theory. But either way, Reboot!Desiree is lighter and softer than original flavor.

Yes, I know Danny and Sam are kind of jerks here. After all, they are basically the villains of this episode, but I hope people can see where they're coming from. Sam thinks Tucker is doing something very, very wrong here, and Danny is convinced that all ghosts are inherently evil. It's hard to portray the protagonists as wrong and still keep them sympathetic.

Also, after re-watching Season 1, I really, really like Kwan. If he didn't have terrible friends, he would be just this very cool dude. But the fact that he does and has to act how he acts makes him a more interesting character. I'm thinking of expanding his role in coming episodes.

And finally, some tentative episode names to whet your appetite: S104: 'The Heart of Rock n' Roll', S105 'The Substitute Phantoms'

**Next Chapter: Episode 3: All You Desire Part 3 –** Sam has a wonderful experience with salad, and then a ghost attacks! Danny Phantom is on to defend, but which ghost is he supposed to fight? Can Danny overcome his personal grudge before something terrible happens? Find out in our next thrilling chapter!


	11. All You Desire Part 3

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 3: All You Desire (Part 3)**

"Maybe we should try looking at this rationally." Sam was sitting with her knees folded under her, beneath a tree in the courtyard, contemplating if her salad was still both safe and ethical to eat after it's transmutation into meat. It wasn't exactly the same salad she'd picked up off the lunch line. It looked to have much higher quality ingredients.

Danny sat beside her, sprawled out, back against the tree. His tray, like his appetite, forgotten. "I really don't think there's much logic to be had here, Sam. Tuck's been blinded by greed and," He huffed, "hormones into a hopeless deal with this ghost. You saw how she messed up his wishes."

Sam prodded the salad with a fork. "I don't know, Danny; that was pretty weaksauce tampering. We got off pretty easy over breakfast: just a little embarrassed by the 'lovebirds' thing, and that was mostly Tucker's fault. And the only one upset by the steak wish seems to have been me, and Desiree fixed it... I think."

She took the plunge and brought a forkful of salad to her mouth. It was only out of interest not to upset Danny more that she didn't make yummy noises, but something still slipped through the bond they shared.

"That good, huh?" Danny asked absently.

"It's... pretty good." She said with careful diplomacy after she swallowed the bite.

Danny gave her a look. "'Pretty good' isn't what I'm getting. I'm not even sure what I'm getting is the kind of feeling we should be talking about in polite company." He teased.

She tried to resist. She really did. But that little nudge was all it took the break the dam and send the words tumbling out. "Oh my god, this is the best salad I've ever had. It's the best _food_ I've ever had! Danny, you have to try this. I will feel like a terrible friend if I don't share this with you." To drive the point home, she speared a bit with her fork and offered it to him.

He shied away. "No matter how good it is, Sam, it's a Salad of Evil. Don't forget that."

"Maybe that attitude is why Tucker thinks its okay to make Desiree do his bidding." Sam thought aloud.

"What attitu—" Danny started, only to have his words cut short by Sam putting the fork in his mouth. He sputtered for a second, then relented and chewed. Sam pulled back the empty fork and raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, that is _really_ good. But still: Salad of Evil."

Sam grinned in triumph and sat back to eat. "Tucker might be right though: maybe not about Desiree specifically, but about ghosts. What makes you think they're all evil?"

He sighed and pushed himself back against the tree so that he was sitting up more. "You're still new at this, but me and Tucker have been doing this for a year. My parents did this for longer than I can remember. The ghosts keep showing up and they do nothing but attack, endanger, or annoy people. And they never stop, Sam. Three or four times a week we hear about another one: some animal ghost harassing people in the park, or a poltergeist breaking or sabotaging things. I used to be a pretty solid 'B' student before I started and had a pretty good record. Now I'm barely holding on to D's, and I get detention at least once a week because I have to cut class to protect people from some ghost nosing around school."

Blue eyes looked back at the school building. "It's been a year, Sam. And I haven't met a single ghost that wasn't a monster, one way or the other. So I'm not going to give her any benefit of the doubt, or any kind of chance, because trust me, I'm an authority on this: all ghosts are evil."

Sam looked down at him, at the intensity of his expression while at the same time feeling the hot buzz of the same intensity in her head and felt a well of sympathy. "Danny..." She started, unsure of what she was going to say. Could she really press the argument after what he'd just said? While he was feeling as raw and upset as he was?

She didn't have to answer that, because just then, a flood of students came rushing out of the doors. They were flecked and spattered with various bits and pieces of food and screaming at the tops of their lungs about a ghost.

Danny's mood lightened instantly. "That didn't take long." He jumped to his feet and shot Sam a cocky grin. "See? All ghosts are evil. They can't help themselves. So now all I have to do is go in there, thermos her, and collect my apology from Tucker." He didn't even bother with his battle cry, just twisted the dial on his belt and transformed.

"You really shouldn't be so happy about that." Sam said to his retreating back, then smirked at her own bit of schadenfreude. "Serves Tucker right, for buying a person though. Even if she is a ghost." She got up, checked to make sure her ghost fighting gear was in her backpack, then started to follow. Only at the last second did she hurriedly go back and grab her salad.

DP-DP-DP

Danny Phantom flew in through the wall, the image of heroic fury. The cafeteria was already mostly deserted, so he didn't bother with niceties. "Alright, Desiree; the jig is up! I'm here to put a stop to your..." He petered out as he got a look at what was actually going on. "...protecting Tucker from a ghost I've never seen before?"

Sure enough, Desiree had raised a quarter-dome of crackling, green energy as a shield against the ballisticly launched meatballs, forks and knives being sent her way by a ghost that looked like a middle aged lady in a cafeteria worker uniform.

"Um..." He looked at the other ghost, confused as to how to proceed. "Who are you?"

The Lunch Lady paused in her barrage to look up at Danny and spoke sweetly. "Oh, hello young man. I'm just here because that young lady right over there changed the menu." And here her demeanor became demonic. "AND NOW SHE MUST BE DESTROYED!"

She punctuated this by summoning a stove from the kitchen and having it unleash a gout of green fire on Desiree's shield.

For a moment, Danny stared blankly, then burst out laughing until he was floating helplessly on his back in stitches. "You twisted a wish so hard that it backfired on yourself?"

"I'm not _trying_ to twist them!" She shouted up at him, tossing her hair so she could glare at him with both eyes. "I think maybe I've been sabotaging wishes for so long that I'm actually kind of bad at doing them the right way." She admitted, her face darkening with an embarrassed blush.

Tucker poked his head over her shoulder. "Dude, are you going to help or not?"

Still snickering, Danny pretended to wipe away a tear. "You've got a point. This lunch lady _is_ attacking the school."

Before he could even right himself, Danny had earned the Lunch Lady's ire. "Oh dear. You're going to try and stop me? MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO SOME CARBO-LOADING FIRST!" The previously ignored spaghetti that went with the meatballs suddenly animated on a dozen plates around him and slithered into the air, wrapped his legs, and slammed him into the floor. With a flick of the Lunch Lady's wrist, they whipped him into the air to slam into the overhead lights before dropping him unceremoniously on a table.

She grinned with unmistakable malice. "My, my my. You look a bit underdone. No worried though." She raised a hand and the stove rose into the air to aim its green flame at him.

Seconds before she could order it to fire, a blast of ecto-energy burst right between her eyes, breaking her concentration, and causing the stove to drop to the floor. Sam stood at the door, ecto-pistol in one hand, ecto-saber in the other.

"Nice shooting, Sam!" Tucker called out.

Sam decided not to tell him that she was aiming at the stove. "What's going on here? Where did this one come from?"

"A little wish mishap." Desiree said. "Apparently she didn't appreciate changing the menu, and now she wants to kill me. Re-kill me."

"Wait. So the wish backfired on—whoa!" Sam didn't get to finish, because strands of spaghetti had wrapped her gun arm and waist and whisked her up into the air. "Typical." She complained bitterly. "Whenever there's something tentacle-like, it always trie to grab the girl in the skirt." Igniting the ecto-saber, she sheared through the offending pasta, only to realize too late that she was five feet in the air and fell painfully on her face.

"Urg." Danny said as Sam's pain shot through his head just as he was recovering. He struggled to his feet and set his fists ablaze with ghostly energy. He was completely thrown off his game to see the Lunch Lady proffering a platter of cookies.

"Cookie?"

"Um... no thanks?" He had no idea what her deal was, but it was creeping him out.

She shook with rage and charged the entire platter with ecto-energy. "THEN HOW ABOUT A HEAPING HEPING OF DOOM!" The cookies launched at him like shuriken embedding in the floor as he dodged.

"Sorry. He pulled out his thermos. "I'll just get some take out!"

The thermos emitted its usual blue light, but the Lunch Lady saw it coming and produced a whole ham, which she hurled into the aperture hard enough to wedge it in, jamming the thermos. Danny paused to look at it in disbelief, which gave the Lunch Lady ample time to close with him and deliver a brutal hit with a stale baguette, sending him flying across the room.

"Oh man." Tucker stared in shock. "This looks hopeless! I wish I could do something to help." He noticed Desiree giving him the same look Danny or Sam usually gave him when he was missing the point. "What?" There was a beat. "Oh. Right. I wish the Lunch Lady Ghost was sent to the Ghost Zone."

Desiree smiled and dropped her shield. "So you have wished it, so shall it be."

The Lunch Lady was closing in on a punch drunk Danny when a swirling green portal opened behind her. "What?" She squawked. "But the menu hasn't been fixed! I can't go yet! Noooooo!" Scrabbling at thin air for purchase, she was sucked though the portal and disappeared from the Earthly Plane.

Tucker let out a whoop of victory. "Looks like ghost hunting is going to be way easier from now on!"

From where he was sitting, Danny growled under his breath.

DP-DP-DP

The rest of the week went downhill from there, at least from Danny's point of view.

"And then, she like, flew into the computer and started playing the game from the inside." He was grousing, running his fingers roughly through his hair. He and Sam were in the living room at Fenton Works, ostensibly to do their meditation exercises, but it wasn't working out that way.

Sam sat cross-legged in front of him. "How does that even work?"

Danny shrugged. "It's a power we've never seen ghosts use; she says most of them can do it. They call it overshadowing, but I call it possession."

"Look at it this way: at least you're learning lots of new facts about ghosts you didn't know before." She'd been trying to bring him out of his funk for three days to no avail. It was getting hard keeping the frustration out of her voice.

"Oh yeah, Tucker knows a lot of 'ghost facts' now. Like her favorite food, favorite clothes. She died a thousand years before the first camera was invented, but hey; now Tuck knows her favorite movies and TV shows too. Did you know that she's been asking him to wish for things for her?"

"Yeah, and I approve." said Sam. "It makes this whole twisted arrangement they've got going a little more equal."

Danny gave her a gravely serious look. "Sam, just about the only check on how powerful this ghost is comes from the fact that she can't grant her own wishes."

Realizing that no meditation was going to happen today, Sam sat back and braced herself with her hands behind her. "I'm not saying we should trust her completely, or that anything ever will make what Tucker is doing here okay, but stop and think about what she's actually asked him to wish for that I know of: clothes, food—which she's shared with us, and enough knowledge of the modern world so she'll fit in. That's hardly dangerous."

"I think that salad's been going to your head." Sam glared daggers at him. "No, I mean literally. It's a magic salad, Sam. A Salad of Evil!"

She continued to give him a look while reaching up and tapping the side of her head. "If I was under mind control, don't you think you'd know about it?"

"Oh." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Right. But there's still something unnatural about dating a ghost."

"Yeah, but they're only pretending... right?" She made a face at the idea.

Danny scowled. "That's what I'm worried about. They played Doomed together all night last night. There was giggling."

"You and Tucker play Doomed all night all the time." Sam said plainly, then smirked. "There's also giggling."

"Men chuckle!" Danny defended. "And anyway, remember how I told you this stupid idea of his is working and girls are taking notice?" Sam nodded. "He doesn't seem to care."

Sam's jaw dropped open and it took her a moment to gather her thoughts enough to respond. "T-tucker? Our Tucker? Mr. Wannabe Casanova doesn't care that girls might actually fall for his terrible lines now? Okay, you're right; this is serious. We need to stage an intervention."

Just then, a throaty laugh could be heard from the foyer. It was followed into FentonWorks by Tucker and Desiree, arm-in-arm. Desiree was holding up a hand glowing in ecto-energy. "So how it works is—"

Danny reacted instantly to the sight of a ghost charging a ghost ray. With not time to turn into Danny Phantom, he turned, pulled Sam behind him defensively, and grabbed her ecto-pistol off the coffee table. One squeeze of the trigger; one shot.

The ghost in question saw and also reacted instantly, pulling Tucker behind _her_ and transforming the burgeoning ecto-energy into a kite shield in front of her. The blast struck the shield and ricocheted around the room before finally destroying a lamp.

"Intervention, not insurrection, Danny!" Sam reached around him and grabbed his arms, forcing them and the ecto-pistol down.

Desiree watched Danny with a carefully arranged expression of boredom to hide what was really going through her mind. Then she forced a smile and looked back at Tucker. "It's a good thing I was explaining ghost shields to you, or that would have... hurt slightly."

Tucker, however, wasn't hiding his shock. "Dude! What is wrong with you?! You're turning into one of those crazy old guys that sit on their porch with a shotgun."

"She looked like she was going to blast you!" Danny said, straining against Sam to try and bring the ecto-pistol back up and at the ready.

Desiree flipped her hair. "He's right, you know. There's no way to tell the difference between a ghost ray and a ghost shield before they're used."

"Yeah," said Tucker, "but he's a terrible shot with anything that's not part of the Danny Phantom suit. He could have hit me while he was trying to save me."

Danny stopped fighting Sam and looked down at the floor dumbly. "Um... well, yeah? At least I'm not dating a ghost!" He said like a five year-old who didn't want to be the only one in trouble.

"We are not dating!" said Tucker and Desiree at the same time. They glanced at each other, then looked away.

Danny and Sam's minds touched with a mutual 'yeah, right', then noticed that Sam was still reaching around him and forcing his arms down. Sam quickly took the ecto-pistol from his hands and backed away.

"So." Tucker said with a nervous little cough. "How about a subject change."

"God yes." said Sam, far too quickly. She snuffed the candle they were using for meditation and threw herself on the couch. "You were saying something about ghost shields that has nothing to do with massive awkwardness?"

Tucker flopped down in an armchair with Desiree opting to simply fold her legs under hr and float in place. "Yeah. Apparently, ghost shields use the same energy as ghost rays, so with a few minor tweaks, I can make it so the Ghost Battlin' Belt can generate them too. I've noticed that Danny's actually done it by accident a few times already."

"Oh no." Danny sat down in front of the couch and leaned back against it. "She is not allowed to mess with our ghost hunting gear."

"Did you hear me make a wish?" Tucker asked indignantly. "She's not: I am, after studying how she does it. It you haven't noticed, I _am_ still being careful with my wishes—no offense, Desi." She shrugged, which caused her to bob in the air. "But yeah, I haven't wished for anything that can fail catastrophically, like a million dollars, or super powers or anything else television has taught me will always end up bad."

"Well goodie for you." Danny said sourly.

Tucker rolled his eyes and decided to ignore him. "Speaking of ghost gear; Sam next time you take stuff home, can you tell me? I set that Fenton Bazooka out so I could see if I could miniaturize the tech or upgrade the thermoses."

"I didn't take it." Sam said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure I would remember lugging a thirty pound gun home." She pointed out.

Tucker frowned. "Weird. Huh. I guess this place is so cluttered, I'm loosing track."

"I could find it." Desiree volunteered. "All you have to do is wish."

"Stop telling him how to use his wishes!" Danny shouted, sitting up.

She glared at him. "It was just a suggestion. Just like my suggestion to wish that other ghost away the other day. It's just an idea to make everyone's life easier."

"Yeah, to make your life easier when you turn on Tuck, you mean." He stood up, fists clenched.

A fire lit in her eyes and she dropped to the floor, hands firmly planted on her hips. "You know, I've become incredibly tired of all of these accusations and little quips about how much of a 'monster' I am. If ghosts are so bad, why are you trying so hard to _be_ one." She stabbed a finger toward his belt.

"Desi..." Tucker reached up and grabbed her arm.

"To even the playing field." Danny spat. "Because you ghosts have all these tricks and powers you use to make humans' lives _worse_."

She turned intangible to slip Tucker's grasp and folded her arms over her chest. "I've done nothing to make anyone's lives worse... in a while. And I don't plan to." She pretended to have an epiphany. "Wait! I know what this is about. Maybe you wouldn't have such a problem with me if you just asked Tucker to make the one wish you _really _want: to have your parents back."

The room turned silent and colder than Desiree's ghostly chill could account for.

"That was too far." Tucker whispered into the void of silence. "You need to apologize like now."

Sam jumped up off the couch and grabbed Danny's shoulders. "Danny, please don't." She was too late. Danny turned the dial on his belt so hard he almost pulled I off its mounting. The flow of ectoplasm washing over him stung Sam's hands and made her let go with a yelp.

For her part, Desiree's mouth moved, but no words came out. She knew she'd really done it this time. Even without twisting one wish or hurting one person, she'd confirmed to him that she was something to be hated, hunted and hounded until she was either back in the Ghost Zone, or destroyed.

She shot an apologetic look at Tucker, then flew sharply to the right to keep him out of the line of fire.

Except Danny didn't go for her. Instead, he launched himself at Tucker's backpack, phased his hand through, and came up with the pink crystal bottle. He wasn't wearing his goggles, so it was easy to see the hurt and rage in his eyes.

"Now _I've_ got the bottle." He said, voice hard. "And I've got just one wish:"

"Danny, no!" Tucker leapt at him and grabbed the arm holding the bottle. "What she said was stupid, but you can't!"

"Tuck, let go!" Danny tried to wrest the bottle back, forgetting he could go intangible. "This is for your own good. You thought you could game this whole genie thing, but you can't! She's using you for whatever plans she has!"

"Dude, stop and think a second." Tucker said, pleading now as he fell into a tug of war with his best friend. "You're just angry about what she said; you're not thinking straight!"

They both gave one last, mighty tug, and that was that. The bottle fumbled out of both of their hands and hit the floor, shattering into a mess of pink crystal and green haze.

"That's... not good." Sam said, looking on.

Tucker looked from the broken bottle to Danny. "That's very not good. Babazita even had a sign about not doing that."

A phantom wind kicked up and blew the mist over to Desiree, where it took the form of the manacles she wore in her ghost form over her arms. There was a tinkling sound, then those manacles shattered and vanished.

Desiree stared down at her arms and dark skin became green, and her legs became a ghostly tail. Her expression was mixed. "I-I'm free." She said quietly, then looked up, first with a sad look toward Tucker, then a hard one at Danny.

"I suppose there's no point of me staying around here anymore." Lifting her head, she flew straight up through the ceiling and was gone.

DP-DP-DP

**A/N: **I'm frankly shocked at the support people have shown for a 'real' Desiree/Tucker relationship. That honestly wasn't part of the plan; this was originally going to be a one and done story that might have gotten a callback later. In deference to people who like the idea, I've added some TxD (Wishshipping?) luff to this chapter, and since apparently 'the pairing absolutely no one demanded' is in demand, I guess I can tun this into a story thread. Expect Desiree to be more of a guest star though, as she is way too powerful to be a permanent part of Team Phantom.

Anyway, I seem to have forgotten the title card. It's being edited into Part 1, but here it is for those of you who don't want to backtrack:

**All You Desire**

Tucker lounges in a deck chair. Desiree is behind him, her ghostly tail wrapping around him as if to tie him there. She's smirking and feeding him a bunch of grapes while her shadow on the wall looms threateningly. Nearby is a door that's being kicked in by an irate looking Sam and Danny. Danny is in Phantom mode with hands blazing, Sam is duel wielding ecto-pistols.

Tagline: The episode you WISHED for.

There ya go, folks :p

**Next Chapter: Episode 3: All You Desire Part 4 – **Desiree is on the loose and Danny is on the hunt. Can Tucker and Sam catch up to them in time to keep them from going too far against one another? It's the moment that challenges Tucker's friendship with Danny; will they still be best friends after this?


	12. All You Desire Part 4

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 3: All You Desire (Part 4)**

Danny's eyes flicked between his best and oldest friend and the object of his unadulterated ire disappearing through the ceiling. He tried to give Tucker an apologetic look, but he was met with a stoney glare for his trouble. Averting his gaze he took out his goggles and pulled them on over his eyes with a drawn out sigh. "We'll talk about this later."

With that, he flew straight up just as Desiree had.

…And smacked his head into the ceiling.

"Ow! Right, intangibility...set to on and..." This time he flew through with no trouble.

"This is bad." Sam again said into the sudden silence of the room.

"Yeah." Tucker said in a tight voice. "It is. Hey, wait: weren't you on his side?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm on no one's side, okay? You were wrong to have bought a human being... what's left of one anyway, and making her do stuff for you and whether you made friends with her or not is immaterial to how wrong it was in the first place." A violet glare cut off his rising protest. "But on the other hand, I've never seen Danny like this... so vengeful. He's going after her because he's angry, not to protect anyone. I don't know about you, but I don't want to see Danny go down that road."

"Neither do I." Said Tucker, and he looked up to where both of them had disappeared. "Especially not to Desi."

"Good. Then we're on the same side then." said Sam. "We need to stop Danny and... figure out what's going on with Desiree. What does it even mean that she'd free from the bottle anyway?"

He shrugged. "Search me. There was just a sign saying not to do it, and, well Danny did it."

"We'll have to ask her then. Is there any way you can track her?"

Tucker shook his head. "We don't have the equipment to track ghosts at long range. The best I can do is guess and patrol with the ghost alarm."

His words fell on deaf ears, as Sam had her head down, eyes closed. After a moment, she looked up and held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I heard you, I was just checking on Danny. It looks like he doesn't know where she went, so you've got some time. If you want, I can slow him down for you while you find Desiree."

"If only I knew where to even start looking." he moaned.

Sam tapped her lips with her index finger, temporarily deep in thought. "You know her probably better than anyone alive, Tucker; just ask yourself where she would go once she was freed. What sort of things does she like to so and which would be first."

"Granting wishes. She likes granting wishes."

"You can't be serious." Sam glowered at him.

"I am." He tensed for a smack upside the head that didn't come. "She told me herself; it's the part of being a ghost she likes. But that doesn't help us, does it? I mean you can't predict when someone's going to make a wish." They both thought for a minute, then he brightened. "Unless you hang out at the only place people are _expected_ to make wishes! Do you know if Amity Park has any wishing wells?"

Sam nodded enthusiastically. "There's a fountain in the park that's full of coins. I saw some little kids trying to fish them out last weekend."

"Great." He fell easily back into his mission control mode. "I'll head there in the ASK, and you can take the Specter Cycle after Danny."

"Sounds like a..." Her face fell. "Wait. _I_ take the specter cycle? I don't know how to ride a motorcycle."

Tucker took a step back, which conveniently brought him closer to the door. "And you think I do? But hey, don't worry, without being powered up with ectoplasm, it's really more of a dirt bike with a lot of torque."

Sam fought down the small panic attack she felt coming on. "But I don't know how to drive a dirt bike either!"

Two more steps and Tucker was running for the door, speaking as quickly as humanly possible. "Oh well, I'm sure a smart girl like you can get the hang of it not problem. Thanks for you help, bye now!"

To her credit, she shook off her panic and gave chase, but she reached the door just in time to see Tucker in the Specter Cycle's Autonomous Side-Kart, rocketing down the street. She growled his name under her breath and clenched her fist, but all her rage was stymied by a case of nerves as her eyes traveled to the bike, sitting at the ready next to the stairs.

"I really need to learn how to say 'no' to doing the right thing once in a while." She groused.

DP-DP-DP

Danny was getting frustrated. Desiree had been long gone by the time he left FentonWorks, leaving him with no leads to follow as to where she would head next to cause mayhem.

"Okay Fenton." He said quietly to himself. "This is extra important, because you absolutely _have_ to catch her doing something evil, or else Tucker will never believe you, and you need him to believe you because he's your best friend. Heck, he was your _only_ friend for a long time there, and let's face it, you live with the guy—his family took you and your sister in."

He laughed bitterly. "But hey, no pressure, right? Okay, maybe a lot of pressure, which is why you're talking to yourself like a loon."

It took a second for him to process that last part, and when he did, he clamped his jaw firmly shut and stopped to hover in midair.

He really should have apologized to Tucker. Even though Desiree was clearly a ghost and therefore evil, he could have handled everything way better. And now he was painted into a corner where he desperately needed to find the Wishing Ghost and catch her in the act to save his friendship. But Desiree was making herself scarce...

No problem though; he was the son of Jack and Maddie Fenton. Ghost hunting flowed through his veins. His father in particular did everything in his power to make sure his only son knew every detail about the vocation. Too bad Danny had done everything in his power to ignore those lessons.

But he did know some: every ghost had an obsession. Weaker ones were obsessed with minor things like locations, or repeating actions while more powerful ones became more specific, or more esoteric. The common thread was that they didn't care what effect their actions had on any humans that might be in the way.

Desiree was definitely powerful, and anyway, she clearly wasn't tied to any location, or the bottle she came out of. So what was her obsession? Well she's spent her afterlife granting wishes that were twisted against the wisher. And she'd spent the past week worming her way into Tucker's confidence, manipulating him into making the wishes she wanted.

That was it! Desiree liked outsmarting people. She needed trusting chumps to manipulate!

Danny scanned the town below him. "But where am I going to find a chump worthy of Desiree?"

His gaze fell on a familiar face: the man was slightly overweight and carrying it mostly up front. His head was completely bald, and he tried desperately to offset this with a neatly trimmed beard. Danny knew him well: the Vice-Principal, and (due to budget cuts) English teacher at Casper High, Mr. Lancer.

As Danny watched, he was getting out of his car and heading into a consignment shop that had a large poster reading 'HALF OFF OBSCURE 19th CENTURY POETRY BOOKS'

"Hellooooo, chump." said Danny. From experience, he knew that Lancer was a ghost magnet and it was a miracle that he'd gone the past few weeks without some form of haunting. Desiree knew about him, having been with the trio in school, and would know that aside from Danny and anyone known to associate with Danny, the man bought every story and terrible excuse that passed his way. Yes, Desiree would go right for him to fulfill her need to manipulate.

As if to cement it, his ghost alarm went off.

Taking a moment more to hover, Danny cracked his knuckles. "Time to finish this." He fell into a steep dive and phased through the roof of the store, heading directly for where the alarm was picking up a ghostly contact. A ghost ray was prepared in one fist, and his other hand was poised on the rim of his goggles to let loose with blasts from those.

"Your doe eyes and evil (yet hot) curves won't save you this time you..." Danny skidded to a halt midair in the aisle he had flown into. "Oh, crud. Again? And _you_?"

Before him, in the process of industriously emptying a cardboard box of its contents, was a short, rotund ghost of a man, wearing a blue stocking cap and blue overalls, which did nothing for his equally blue skin. He looked goggle-eyed at Danny for a second until it dawned on him that yes, he now had an audience.

A dim-witted, slightly placid look crossed his face and he let got of the box, allowing it to float in a lazy orbit around him so as to raise both arms above his head and waggle his fingers in the way he'd believed all his life (and also his afterlife) that ghosts should behave. "Bewaaaare! I am the Box Ghost; Master of All that is Cardboard and Square!"

Danny gave him a look the telegraphed the exact value of 'not at all amused' he was feeling at the moment. "Dude. I so don't have time for you now."

If there was an Undefeated of the East in the Art of the Slow Thinker, The Box Ghost had him licked. Very carefully, he examined his fingers because surely _they_ were the reason this wasn't working, then he raised them once more and bellowed. "I am the Box Ghost!"

"That's it. Time for you to go back to..." Danny patted his suit and found a distinct lack of Fenton Thermoses. "Aw man." Then she shrugged and re-lit his ghost rays. "Time to vent some badly pent up aggression."

"Danny!" A voice cut through his violence fueled resolve and he turned to see Sam rushing down the aisle. She looked much worse for wear; he hair blown about in disarray, and a terrified haunted look in her eyes. It didn't take much to get him to pick seeing to her over giving the Box Ghost a beating.

"Sam!" He dropped to ground level and rushed toward her. "Are you okay?"

In reply, she smacked him on the arm and gave him a deathly serious look. "Your bike. Is the _devil_."

"You rode here?"

"I _careened_ here." She replied, still trying to catch her breath. "That... that _thing_ handles like a log fired out of a cannon, and it takes off if you so much as _think_ about the gas. You're lucky you didn't have another ghost..." She finally registered the Box Ghost, who was checking his hands for scare-inhibiting defects again. "...Another ghost!? Why am I always walking in to find extra ghosts I didn't know about?"

Danny snickered and jerked a thumb at the Box Ghost. "Oh, him? You don't have to worry about him. This guy manages to escape the Zone all the time, but he's harmless—evil, but harmless. His shtick is that he controls boxes and the things in them. By the way, do you happen to have a thermos on you?"

"Harmless, huh?" Box Ghost fumed, looking around for something to use. He levitated a large, heavy box in front of him and carefully read the label. "We will see who is harmless when you are facing the carefully stored belongings of... 'Simon and Lee's Antique Firearms Emporium'!"

The box glowed green and opened, disgorging several flintlock pistols, a colt revolver, and a blunderbuss.

Danny and Sam shot panicked looked at each other. Danny swallowed and tried to stay calm. "Maybe 'harmless' wasn't the right word..."

DP-DP-DP

Meanwhile, in the park, a fresh faced young man approached the fountain on a lark. Unlike some people in Amity Park, his life had been pretty dull for the past few months and more than anything, he longed for change, excitement, and some spice in his life.

He'd just been taking a walk in the park and ended up at the unofficial wishing fountain. A few nickels jingle-jangled in the pockets of his light jacket. What was the harm?

Out came a coin, one of the older ones with a profile of Jefferson on the front and his stately home on the back. "I wish..." He started and flipped the coin out into space over the fountain.

"Nooooo!" came a Doppler scream. A dark skinned boy took a flying leap past him, palm outstretched. He snatched the coin out of the air seconds before gravity decided to make itself clear on its stance on unpowered human flight and sent him into the fountain with a splash, the only part of him not instantly soaked being the fist holding the nickel.

Seconds later, he surfaced, clutching the coin and laughing manically. "Yes! It didn't hit the water! The wish doesn't count if the coin doesn't hit the water; everybody knows that!"

The young man making the wish looked on in confusion. "What the heck are you doing? Hey, that's _my_ wish you ruined."

The air above them shimmered and Desiree appeared in all her green skinned, curvacious glory, her ghostly tail forming a loop that encompassed almost the entire fountain. She looked down at Tucker with hurt in her eyes. "What? You suddenly don't trust me either?"

"G-g-g-g..." The would-be-wisher worked his jaw, but only blabber and panic came out.

"Of course I do." Tucker said. "Stopping that wish wasn't got him, it was for you. Trust me, Desi, messing up a few wishes isn't going to make you feel better."

She cast here eyes downward and sank a bit in the air. "Maybe not." Her expression brightened a bit, "But this one was going to be great. It involved a family of Colobus monkeys escaping from the zoo and... well monkey will be monkeys."

"G-g-g-g..." Continued the guy.

Tucker chuckled. "Heh, monkeys... I mean no! Look, Danny was an ass, but you can't just go out and prove him right, okay? This," He held up the nickel, "Isn't the way."

"G-g-g-g..."

Both Desiree and Tucker glared at him. "Ghost, okay? I get it. I am a ghost. Ooooh, spooky ghost lady. Fear me!" Desiree shouted at him, waving her hands wildly As if that was all he needed, the guy screamed like a schoolgirl and fled from the park.

Desiree blushed. "In retrospect, that probably wasn't the way either." A smirk claimed her face. "But it was funny."

Sinking the rest of the way down to come to rest on the fountain's edge, she put her head in her hands with a sight. "But I don't know, Tucker. I don't think there _is_ a way to deal with this. Your friend overreacted, but he does have every right not to trust me."

"No he doesn't." Tucker said automatically, coming to sit on the lip of the fountain next to her.

"Yes, he does." said Desiree, brushing her hair out of her eye. "You told me all about what your lives have been like the past year, and it'll take a major shift change to fix that." Our of the corner of her eye, she saw his mouth start to move and held up a warning finger to silence him. "And don't you dare wish things were different. Do you really want to rewrite your friend's brain over this?"

Tucker's shoulders slumped. "If that's what it would take, I guess not." He rolled the nickel around in his hand and frowned at it. "You know, I wouldn't have gamed it. Come the end of the month, you would have been free anyway."

"I know." She said. "But I think I might have stayed. Nothing we can do about it now thought, huh?"

"Maybe we could think of something." He said. "Sam might even help."

Desiree gave him a sad smile, then after a moment's thought, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Maybe we will think of something. But or right now I think we both know what we have to do." She rose into the air tried to look resolute. "Come on, Tuck: one last wish."

DP-DP-DP

Danny and Sam cringed, holding on to each other in shear terror as the antique guns turned toward them, took careful aim... and clicked ineffectually.

Curious as to what she wasn't riddled with lead balls at this point, Sam cracked an eyelid and looked over to see the Box Ghost scratching his head in confusion. Then it dawned on her and she let go of Danny to smack her forehead. "Of course! No one's going to be stupid enough to store guns for sale _loaded_." She jabbed a finger at the Box Ghost. "You sir are bad at haunting and you should feel bad."

"Um..." The Box Ghost racked his brain for the proper response for this turn of events and came up with a trust old standby. "Beware!"

"Oh for the love of..." With an exasperated grunt, Sam pulled out her thermos and sucked him in. Then she turned to Danny. "You can stop freaking out now. We're alive."

Danny cautiously opened his eyes to find the Box Ghost gone. "Aw man, I just cowered from Box Ghost. I'll never live this down if Tuck hears about this."

That reminded Sam of why she was there in the first place. "Danny, you won't live anything down with Tucker if you go and hunt down Desiree like you were."

"But-"

"No buts." She said strictly. "I'm in your head, remember? You weren't trying to protect Tucker, or stop Desiree from doing evil, you wanted to hunt her down and hurt her for what she said." She used her free hand to turn him around to face him. "Is that the kind of superhero you want to be, Danny? It's not the kind I _or_ Tucker want to play sidekick to, I can tell you that."

Danny looked at her in disbelief that slowly melted into understanding. He really _had_ wanted to make Desiree pay for that crack about his parents. And seeing as he hadn't even thought to bring a thermos, he hadn't been looking for a quick capture and deportation to the Ghost Zone either. His shoulders slumped. "But she's a ghost and..."

"And _since_ ghosts are _always_ evil," Sam turned his words against him. "She'll eventually do something evil, then you can stop her, catch her and send her to the Ghost Zone. If you're right about her, it's just a matter of waiting, right? Because they can't help themselves, _right_?"

He didn't much care for the edge to that which suggested that idea might be incorrect, but the logic was sound. "Right." His voice was defeated.

Sam smiled and patted his shoulder. "I know you're upset, but I'm sure this is for the best. Now, if you promise you won't shoot first, shoot some more, then write a question in the ectoplasm, I'll tell you where Desire is so you can actually talk to her and come to an understanding."

DP-DP-DP

With the Specter Cycle transformed, I took a very short time for them to reach the fountain. But when they got them, they were greeted by a sight they didn't expect: There was a ghost portal in the middle of the water, it's swirling green event horizon illuminating everything within fifty feet. Silhouetted before it was Desiree, who floated over the water, while Tucker stood on the edge of the fountain, facing her.

Danny sent the Cycle into a skidding stop, which set a patch of grass ablaze with blue fire and started to jump off. Sam was quick to grip his shoulder and keep him still. Where he saw the ghost, she also saw the expression.

As they watched, Desiree with a sad, forced little smile on her face waved one more time to Tucker, who forced himself to raise his hand in return. Then she drifted backward into the irresistible pull of the portal, appearing to dissolve into light as she crossed the event horizon.

The moment she was across, the portal destabilized, the edges wobbling erratically, until it collapsed in on itself and was gone, robbing the park of its light and the roaring sound of its presence.

Tucker's head drooped.

Danny shook Sam off and leapt from the Cycle, flying over to his friend. "Tuck! Are you okay? Man, I never would have thought of wishing her into the Ghost Zone, that was genius!"

He clapped a hand to his friend's shoulder, but it was immediately brushed off. Tucker looked up with a cold, steely gaze and a face that was completely void of expression. "I'm find, Danny." He said tightly. "But right now, you are the _last_ person I want to talk to."

With that, he turned and started to walk back toward where he'd parked he ASK.

"What?" Danny asked quietly. "Tucker, wait!"

"Save it Danny. Man, I don't even want to _see_ you right now."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** Dun-dun-duuuun! So endeth Episode 3!

I'd like to thank everyone who read and everyone who has reviewed, especially you amazing folks who have offered thoughts an encouragement on every update so far. You guys rock!

I hope you all enjoyed 'All You Desire' and this conclusion, which is wholly unlike what I had planned. Originally, Danny was going to have more 'faith' in Tucker's dedication to the ghost hunting mission and suggest to Desiree that Tucker had been playing her the whole time and never intended to free her, right before the bottle breaks. Thus properly hurt and enraged, Desiree would have retroactively twisted all of Tucker's wishes, including making Tucker sick (off all his wished for Nasty Burger meals) and forcing Danny to fight her to undo everything and an ending that was much more tragic, where she gets thermosed and Tucker has one more talk with her in the lab about how he really intended to free her the whole time before having to use the Fenton Bazooka to gate her back to the Ghost Zone.

There was also a version where Tucker wishes her back to the Ghost Zone after the fight _without_ telling her the truth, and out of spite, she exits by activating the Fenton Portal, thus opening the door for more ghosts to come through.

You the readers averted these two alternate timelines with your enthusiasm for Desiree and Tucker. Desiree will return in the future!

Now for a bit of sad news: November is National Novel Writing Month and, as always, I will be participating. Between that and my bi-weekly original fiction work, that means updates to any and all of my fan-fiction will likely be very, very slow. Don't be surprised if a couple of weeks go by without a peep here. This doesn't mean anything is on hiatus, just that I'm going to be very busy with my primary writing career, for which my fic work is mostly practice and technique refinement.

If you really like my writing, you can go to my original fiction site descendantsserial dot com, where you can find my superhero series: _The Descendants_, my dungeonpunk (eventual) romance, _Rune Breaker_, and progress on my National Novel Writing Month entry: _So I Married a Supervillain_.That site updates Mondays and Wednesdays with Friday blogs on the regular, no exceptions. There's even a forum and a comments section where you can hang out, talk to me and ask questions.

But anyway, that's neither here nor there. I know what you really want to see and that's...

**Next Chapter: Episode 04 'The Heart of Rock N' Roll' –** Danny and Tucker have only been on the outs for a day and Sam is already tired of being caught in the middle. Luckily, a mysterious benefactor has just want the doctor ordered: tickets to the hottest act in town, Ember McClain! But when Sam's ulterior motive for going falls through, she ends up with a much bigger problem than feuding friends. Can Tucker and Danny put their differences aside long enough to even notice that something's wrong? Find out in our next pulse-pounding episode!


	13. The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 1

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 4: The Heart of Rock 'N Roll (Part 1)**

Danny went straight to the room he shared with Tucker after school and hurled himself onto the top bunk, scowling up at the poster of the Milky Way galaxy as seen from the Hubble telescope pasted to the ceiling above him. The poster had been a 'housewarming' gift from his erstwhile best friend when he and Jazz first moved in from FentonWorks, and at the moment, he didn't need the reminder.

He'd known that braving school would be pretty bad without his best friend there with him, but he hadn't guessed just how terrible that day would be.

First, he'd forgotten how much he depended on Tucker handling his time management, which meant that after the Desiree incident the previous day, Danny lost track of time and completely forgot to do his homework, which he then had to instead of having breakfast, without help.

Then, a poltergeist started trouble in the art room, necessitating the intervention of Danny Phantom. Poltergeists weren't normally much of a challenge, but without his mission control, it took him twenty minutes to get the thing in a thermos, at which point, he as hopelessly late for Chemistry. And when he did get there, Tucker wasn't there to suggest a plausible excuse.

Being the worst, most awkward liar in the world without his longtime bad influence along for the ride, Danny gibbered for a while before Sam suggested through their psychic link that he could just say he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him for breakfast. On the trip from his brain to his mouth, that transformed to 'I was on the toilet for the last twenty minutes'.

Granted, it got him out of a tardy slip, but it wold be a while before he lived that one down.

And on the subject of Sam; she really had tried to be a good friend and split her loyalty between the two of them, but her sympathies were with Tucker, and when it mattered (Lunch and study hall), she'd picked his table over Danny's. Then, at the end of the day, she headed out with Tucker instead of him.

That had been the final kick in the gut there. Okay, sure, maybe he'd been in the wrong, but he and Sam had a mind link. That meant their friendship was closer, right? Well, not closer than his and Tucker's... had been... but still.

There was a knock at the door, mercifully saving him from dwelling too long on what insane troll logic that was when he got down to it. "Come in." He said, still staring upward.

"Danny?" The gentle sound of Mrs. Foley's voice came from below. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes?" He winced when it came out as a question.

Footsteps crossed the room and she was standing directly below him, one hand n the ladder, causing I to creak slightly. "Don't lie to me, Danny. You never were good at it. Now I know something's not right with you and Tucker."

That had Danny peering over the edge of his bed. The woman who had been like a second mother then legally his foster mother looked back. She was in her forties and still attractive; her skin a shade or two darker than Tucker's, and her hair straightened into a short bob.

"How did you know it had something to do with Tuck?"

Mrs. Foley rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You've lived here for fourteen months and not once have I ever seen you come home without Tucker; or, for that matter, come home directly after school. So what happened? I assume you had a fight."

Danny sighed and mentally prepared himself. He was a lousy liar, but since becoming Danny Phantom, he'd become skilled in the art of creative truth telling. He moved around so he was sitting on the edge of the bed and worried his lip a bit.

"It's about... a girl." He began.

"A girl came between you?" Mrs. Foley sounded surprised, then quirked a brow. "Was it the new girl you've been hanging out with, Sam?"

Danny almost fell off the bunk. "What?! No!" He couldn't imagine Sam coming between them. She didn't like Tucker like that.

Or himself, he added belatedly and prayed he wasn't broadcasting.

Clearing his throat, he shook his head. "I mean, it's a different girl. Tuck and her had a kind of thing, but they said they weren't... it's complicated."

Mrs. Foley couldn't stop herself from snickering. "High school."

"... Right. Anyway, I was pretty sure she was bad news—still am, but the way—but I _might_ have been kind of a jerk about the whole thing, and didn't have any real proof. But she's out of his life either way now, because of how I acted, and he blames me."

"Oh Danny..." Mrs. Foley shook her head sadly. "I know you're protective of Tucker; you're like brothers. But sometimes, especially when it comes to matters of the heart, you have to let people make their own mistakes. Now, I expect you to object and to tell us if Tucker is involved with someone who does drugs, or is in a gang, but just not liking her doesn't justify causing trouble."

_And if she's been dead a coupe of centuries?_ Danny wanted to asked, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, I know I did wrong, it's just that he's really, really mad right now. He won't even let me say I'm sorry. And school tanks extra hard without my best friend."

Mrs. Foley reached up and patted his leg. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but he'll probably be angry for a while over this. But when it's time, he'll let you apologize, and as long as you promise never to do it again, I think you two can get past this."

Danny was about to reply when there was another knock at the door.

"Danny," Jazz said with a teasing lilt to it as she stuck her head in the open door. "You have a visitor."

Sam peered over the older girl's shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Why did you sing-song that?"

Jazz ignored her, and she and Mrs. Foley shared a look. For a moment,the room was silent, as the two people without a psychic connection shared volumes of information without saying a word, badly disconcerting the two who did.

With one more pat on the leg, Mrs. Foley withdrew from the bed. "Things will get better. You'll see. We'll leave you two alone now." She paused and considered a second. "With the door open." And with that hanging in the air in exactly the way bricks don't, she and Jazz took their leave.

"What was that all about?" Danny and Sam said as one as soon as the room was empty.

Sam, who had a decent idea, fidgeted uncomfortably at the ill timed moment of synchronicity. "Um... so I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and say you didn't have a good day today."

He gave her the look she usually gave everyone else. "You think?"

She folded her arms and leaned against the wall. "What have we learned?"

"Don't get Tucker mad at me?"

"I think the judges are looking for a lesson a little bit broader than that."

Danny groaned. "Fine: that I should be more careful and get all the facts before I go all paranoid and vengeful. Are you happy now?"

"Yep." she pushed off the wall and dug into the pocket of her skirt. "You even win a prize: three tickets to see Ember McLain in concert this weekend."

DP-DP-DP

**Title Card**

THE HEART OF ROCK 'N ROLL

Sam, dressed in Ember's costume with guitar in hand and green eyes, slides across a stage on her knees. Up front, Jazz, Paulina, Dash, Kwan, Valerie, and Star are clamoring to be the ones in the very front row, and to the right of them, Danny and Tucker tussle, hands literally at each other's throats. Finally, almost hidden by the action in the foreground is a man with white hair and a close cropped beard manning the concession stand, counting money with malicious glee.

Tag Line: Three Chords and the HORRIFYING Truth

DP-DP-DP

Danny smiled broadly. "Sam, that's awesome!" Then his face fell, "But Tuck's the big Ember fan, so..." Something ticked in the connection between them that made him glance up, "What?"

"Please don't tell me you're really that clueless." said Sam. "There's three tickets."

"Yes, I _can_ count Sam."

She studied him carefully, trying to figure out if he was just haivng her on. He wasn't. "Okay..." She groaned, "One for me. One for you and..."

"... we've got an extra ticket! Hey, do you think some of the other girls at school like Ember? Maybe even Paulina—"

"Danny. Focus." Sam snapped. "Do I have to draw this out for you? We have three Ember tickets. The problem at hand is that Tucker, a huge Ember fan, is refusing to talk to you. Tucker, I might add, is never beneath good, old fashioned bribery between friends."

Danny cocked his head to the side like a spaniel trying to understand a new trick. "Oh, hey, hold on to that thought Sam: I've got an idea here: what if we use the spare ticket to bribe Tucker into accepting my apology?"

Sam facepalmed. "Yeah. It's so simple. Why, oh why didn't I think of that?"

"You were probably over-thinking it." Danny said happily as he climbed down from the top bunk.

"Let's just go find him." Sam rolled her eyes. "He's probably still over at FentonWorks."

DP-DP-DP

The walk over to Fenton Works was doing wonders for Sam's disposition. It hadn't just been Danny's willful obtuseness that had her on edge, but an entire day of Tucker bending her ear about all of Danny's dirty laundry, foibles, bad habits, and his actual, literal dirty laundry.

Sure, he needed sympathy and she was happy to give it, but he was channeling grief he wouldn't admit he had over Desiree into rage at Danny and foisting it all on her. She didn't need to be Jazz to see that, and she certainly didn't to get annoyed by it. Add to it all the hurt looks and thoughts from Danny (and just why the heck did he feel betrayed by her when Tucker dragged her off to complain more?!), and the day had been a bad one. Or at least it was until...

"So how did you get sweet seats like this on short notice?" Danny had the tickets in hand as they walked and saw that they were front row, center.

"My parents are pretty well connected." She shrugged, "One of their business partners is in town for the weekend; he's got a stake in Ember's label, and apparently offered them two tickets to get me out of their hair so that could do business without my complaining tomorrow night. I told them they had a deal if they got him to cough up three."

"Wow." Said Danny with a smirk, "We must have annoyed you to no end if you're turning down a chance to denounce corporate greed at the dinner table, much less going to an Ember concert. Didn't you call her 'an unfortunate product of the soulless music industry's desire the homogenize the sound of our entire culture'?"

Her eyes darted back and forth for a moment. "Um... that's true, but my two best friends are more important to me than the plight of the modern independent musician, struggling even as they pioneer new and creative sounds." Her fists were clinched as she said the last part, not that Danny noticed.

If slowed her pace a second and cleared her mind. It wouldn't do for Danny to find out the _other_ reason she'd accepted the tickets before he and Tucker had accepted her invitation. Unfortunately, slowing down had drawn his attention.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" She looked up just in time to avoid running into him. "Oh, yeah, I'm okay. Let's just hurry over to FentonWorks." With that, she grabbed his wrist and took off, intent on jogging the last block. Just shy of the building, Danny spotted someone headed toward them from the other direction and checked their speed.

"Is that... Holy cow it is!" Sam had just enough time to be confused before it was suddenly her that was being dragged by the hand toward the stranger. Danny waved his free hand enthusiastically. "Uncle Vlad! Is that you?"

The stranger was a man of average height, dressed in an impeccable and expensive black business suit. His hair was snow white and so was his short, neat beard. His expression had been one of brow wrinkling, deep thought before he heard and spotted Danny; then it flashed rapidly between surprised, dismayed, and a kind of calculated joy.

"Daniel? Is it really you?" He asked as Danny came to a halt in front of him, dragging Sam behind like a wayward balloon. "It _is_ you. My how you've grown in—what has it been? Five short years? If you get any taller, I'll have to stop calling you Little Badger, won't I?" He reached out and tousled Danny's naturally messy hair into pure chaos. Then his eyes fell on Sam and he was back to surprise. "And... who is your friend?"

Danny was grinning like a kid who just got praised by their favorite teacher. "Oh, sorry. This is my friend, Sam. Sam Manson. Sam, this is my Uncle Vlad Masters."

"Honorary Uncle." said Vlad, a bit too vehemently for Sam's taste, but her mind was latched on to something more important.

"Um, pleased to meet you..." She said carefully, "You're not the 'Mastersoft Computers' Vlad Masters, are you?"

Vlad chuckled in a personable fashion. "Guilty as charged, young lady. And you are the heiress to the Manson Deli Toothpicks fortune. I know your parents."

"Say what?" Danny did a double take at the girl beside him, then at his uncle. "Wait. You're _both_ rich?"

Sam gave him a look. "I don't like to play it up, but did you not notice that my brownstone is all just one big house? Or the group of professional photographers my parents hired when we went to the dance?"

Danny gave her a blank look. "Now that you mention it, that _was_ a little odd."

"Ah, same old Little Badge." Vlad chuckled, then smiled at Sam. "And what refreshing humility, Miss Manson. I too rarely like to flaunt my fabulous wealth, my two mansions, my winder cabin in Colorado, or my many, many companies. It's just tacky, you know?"

"Yeah..." Sam said, unable to hide the dripping sarcasm.

Vlad brushed right past it. "But Daniel, I'm surprised to see you here. I was in town on business, and heard what happened to your parents—I suspected you and Jasmine would be in foster care."

Discussing his parents dampened Danny's mood noticeably and he ended up staring at the ground. "We kind of are. But FentonWorks is still ours and I check in on the place once in a while. You know, make sure no ghosts have messed with anything."

"Ah. Of course. Good lad." said Vlad. "Unfortunately, I have to be going, but we do have to catch up on old times, Daniel. You and Jasmine." He reached into a pocket and handed Danny a card. "That's my cell phone. Feel free to call any time—being ridiculously wealthy leaves me with loads of free time... except right now. Ta."

As the older man headed off, Sam gave his retreating back a curious look. "That was weird."

"Oh, that was just Uncle Vlad." Danny shrugged, finally letting go of her hand when he realized what they've been doing. "I think being weird is a requirement for hanging out with my parents. He helped design a lot of the prototypes of the Fenton tech, you know? Like the thermos."

Sam watched Vlad until her turned a corner. "Not what I was calling weird. It's just..." She knew that commenting on all the weird vibes she was getting would just lead to more drama in an already drama-critical situation, so she went with something small. "...that your 'Honorary Uncle' is the same guy that gave my parents the Ember tickets."

"Small world." said Danny. The pair started into FentonWorks. "I'm still shocked that he's rich—I'm still shocked that you're rich. Does Tucker know?"

"Probably not." said Sam. "I try not to spread it around. I don't need friends that only want to spend time with me because of my money, understand?"

"Can I tell him?"

With a small, put upon sigh, she nodded. "I guess he should know if you do."

It didn't take them long to make their way down into the lab from there.

Tucker had dragged one of the Fentons' earlier inventions out of mothballs and into the middle of the room, where he was standing beside it, taking readings with his PDA plugged into it. The thing looked like a dream-catcher, except it was a little over eight feet tall and the 'strings' crossing it seemed to actually be beams of coherent ectoplasm.

In spite of himself, Danny laughed. "The Ghost Catcher, Tuck? Isn't that just some kind of fancy air purifier?"

"That's exactly why I'm giving it a once over before I break it down for parts." Said Tucker, only to belatedly realize who he was addressing. "... I mean, Sam, tell him I'm still not talking to him."

"Not this again." Sam growled. "You know he can hear you, right?"

"Principle of the thing." Tucker insisted.

Danny glared and followed Sam the rest of the way down the stairs. "Oh yeah, well try and keep silent about this: Sam's rich."

Tucker barely glanced up. "So you _are_ one of _those_ Mansons. I kind of suspected."

"Wha?" Sam goggled, "How?"

Finally taking his eyes off the PDA, he reached down to the backpack at his feet and pulled out a small box of deli toothpicks. "I keep a box of Manson Brand on me at all times! You never know when you've have to make an emergency pile of deli sandwiches."

"And this day continues a downward spiral of weird." Sam said with a deadpan expression. After a moment, she came back to herself and put on a sly smile. "But that's beside the point. Say Tucker? Do you like that girl rocker that's been hot the last couple months? Amber something?"

Tucker's eyes lit up in the same way they did when he talked technology. "You mean Ember? Heck yeah, I _love_ Ember! She's the greatest musical act sense..." He wracked his brain to remember the previous act he loved so much. It had only been a year ago... "The... last one." He said, remaining enthusiastic.

"Of course." Sam said with equal, but false enthusiasm. "And what would you say if I told you that someone I knew had tickets to tomorrow's concert at the Kevin Strummer Memorial Concert Hall?"

Tucker's eye twitched. "I'd say they were incredibly lucky—and also that I hate them for having tickets that I couldn't get because they were sold out."

The smile on Sam's face became more genuine and more devious. "Oh, well I'm not sure if I want to give you one of my tickets if you hate me..."

Another twitch. He spoke slowly, but he was practically vibrating with avarice. "You have... You... Ember—Sam, you have to let me got to that concert! It's the kickoff to her One Thing Remains tour! It's going to be the concert of the century! You're going to give me a ticket, right? I mean we are friends and everything, right? Right?!"

Now smiling like the spider welcoming the fly, Sam held up a hand to cut him off. "Of course we're friends, Tucker. But before I give you this ticket, well, there are a few provisos; a couple of quid pro quos..."

_You do realize that a genie is the whole reason I'm in this mess in the first place._ Danny sent to her mentally.

_Actually, we watched that movie with her Wednesday, after you left in a huff._ Sam replied.

Tucker looked at her suspiciously. "Like what?"

"For both of you, actually." said Sam. "First of all, Danny has to admit he went way too far and will do anything he can to fix what he did, and you, Tuck, have to forgive him."

Pure malice radiated from Tucker as he looked over at Danny, who tried to look as sorry as possible. "This is blackmail."

"Oh, it so very much is." Sam nodded.

His eye twitched again. "But... Ember. Front row center... Okay, fine, as long as he admits he was a complete idiot and totally wrong, I forgive him."

"Hey, that wasn't..." Danny started, but Sam broadcast a very colorful rendition of the consequences he'd face if he turned down the deal. It involved her boot and going through the rest of his life as 'Danielle', which would have been awkward, because he was pretty sure he had a cousin by that name. "... I mean I was a complete idiot and totally wrong."

"As long as you admit it." Tucker said, extending his hand.

Danny reached out to shake it when his mind finished processing the last few bits of conversation. "Wait Sam, what did you mean 'first'?"

The goth girl looked away and hummed innocently. "I might also require you guys to pass out some special merchandise at the show..."

DP-DP-DP

That night, the Kevin Strummer Memorial Concert Hall was left almost completely deserted. That was because Vladco, the company that had recently acquired the companies that provided security, concessions and maintenance there had generously given all of its Amity Park employees the night off.

So no one was there to see two lines of blue fire suddenly form at the far edge of the south parking lot and race toward the VIP entrance in back. A few hundred feet out from the building, a massive, state of the art tour bus, painted with purple and blue flames materialized out of thin air, its tires appearing directly over the trails of fire. It executed a jack-knife turn and drifted sideways up to the curb, leaving behind burning tire marks before it finally came to a stop.

The doors opened and out stepped a female figure in black leather pants and a matching off the shoulder cotton tanktop. She wore knee-high platform boots with metal skulls fashioned over the toes, and across her back was slung an electric guitar. Most striking was her hair: aquamarine in color and it moved and flickered as if made of fire. It was tied up in a high ponytail with a box, metallic device the flashed a steady, green light whenever her hair flared.

Her green eyes danced as she looked up at the Concert Hall and she raised her arms high as if greeting an imaginary legion of fans.

"Helloooo, Amity Park!" She cried out into the stillness and cool air of the parking lot. "Are you ready to ROCK?"

DP-DP-DP

**A/N**- I'm still in the middle of NaNoWriMo (I'm soulfulbard there too if you want to be writing buddies), so updates will still be slow. But here is a plus sized update to tide you over. This one might actually end up with more chapters, because there are a lot of elements going on.

And on top of that heap, we have dear old Vlad. Several people have already asked about him and here he is. Like Desiree, Reboot!Vlad is a bit different from original flavor. Namely, with Maddie and Jack missing, he's a bit more focused on the evil mastermind thing than winning Maddie and by extension, Danny. Also, as Danny isn't a halfa, there's not a lot of reason for Vlad to care much about him beyond the fact that the kid is basically his godson. Same goes for Jazz. Vlad wants to be on good terms with them/possibly use them as pawns... for now.

Ember, however, is Ember. Her situation is a bit different here, as you will see, but she's mostly intact. Don't expect much angstifying over her death or anything; I always felt Ember was one of the more fun characters, so I'll use her for fun. A lot of people have asked for some Danny/Ember and to that I say, **evil laugh**.

Next Chapter: Episode 4 'The Heart of Rock 'N Roll' Part 2 – The Trio hits the Ember concert and while split up for their side quest, Danny senses a ghost, which causes even more tension with Tucker. Meanwhile, Ember accidentally overshadows Sam and can't get out again! Can Danny and Tucker stop fighting long enough to realize something is terribly wrong with their friend, or will a certain amount if bad information and Ember's part land Sam in a _really_ awkward situation? Find out next time in... The Phantom Reboot!


	14. The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 2

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 4: The Heart of Rock 'N Roll (Part 2)**

With a grunt of effort, Sam hauled hard on the crowbar in her hands and the nails holding the top of the crate finally gave up the ghost (appropriately enough), allowing the top of the wooden crate marked 'Amity Silk Screeners Ltd.' to clatter to the ground.

Both Tucker and Danny leaned over to look inside while Sam stood by beaming proudly like a new mother.

"Aw man," Tucker whined as he reached in an extracted a t-shirt. It was black, of course; this being Sam's venture, and had a white legend on the front reading 'Support Local Independent Artists and Record Stores with the logos of various such groups and businesses decorating the entire bottom half of the shirt. "If we get caught wearing these, we're _never_ getting into another Ember concert again."

Danny picked on up as well and held it against himself for size. "Have you _seen_ how rabid Ember fans get during her concerts? If we get caught wearing these, we're never getting into anywhere that doesn't have a wheelchair ramp."

Sam rolled her eyes and scoffed, grabbing up a shirt and pulling it on over her own. It was too big for her and hung down almost to her knees. "If you don't want to wear them, you don't have to. All I'm asking you to do is give them out."

"And you don't think it's just a little rude to go to the woman's concert and shill for her competition?" Tucker asked reproachfully.

"What competition?" Sam asked, exasperated. "Ember has a corporate juggernaut behind her paying to play her on the radio, getting specials made about her on cable television and putting on special appearances all over the lake states. Do you know what the advertising budget is for most of these bands?"

"Poorly photocopied fliers and a case of beer for the college guys that pass them out?" Danny guessed.

Sam nodded sharply. "And that's if we're lucky. Luckily, we're going to play fairy godparents for these poor, deserving bands."

Tucker looked down at the shirt, then up at the concert hall. The delivery people had dropped off the crate not far from the main entrance. "Man, I don't wanna be a fairy anything."

"Oh yeah? Even for this?" Sam waved the ticket for primo seats just under his nose, causing him to follow after it much like a cobra danced to the motion of a flute. She moved it side to side experimentally and found him following it as if in a trance, so she pushed her luck and waved it wildly.

Tucker and Danny's heads collided with a sound like ripe melons and they went down in a heap. Red with shame and embarrassment, she leaned over them. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! Are you guys okay?"

A hand came up and snatched the ticket from her hand before Tucker sat up, staring at it with naked avarice. "I am now!"

"Danny?" Sam asked, looking around Tucker to the boy who was still on the ground. She didn't have to see him to feel his annoyance in the connection they shared. Crouching down, she offered him a hand up, which he took. "Are you alright?"

He rubbed his head with a groan. "Fine. Just getting the feeling that this is going to be one of those bad days."

"Oh hush." She shook her head and straightened up. "Alright, there's an hour before the concert starts, so you two better get a move on giving these out."

Tucker narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. "And what are you going to be while we're in constant danger of getting kicked out?"

An enigmatic smile came to Sam's face. "Backstage."

That set Tucker to sputtering. "Y-you're going back stage and you're not taking us? You don't even like Ember! And for that matter, how are you getting backstage—I heard Ember never gives any out at all."

"Pfft." Sam reached into her purse and came out with a thick stack of bills. "I have the universal backstage pass."

"Why is it that you can hurl wads of cash toward projects like this," Danny gestured toward the crate, "And yet you bring coupons to Nasty Burger?"

"I'll have you know that I try to only use my family's wealth for good causes and never personal gain." she said, feigning insult. "And don't worry, Tuck, I'm not going to see Ember without you. Now if you excuse me, I have to go see a man about a pyrotechnics display."

Danny gave her a blank look. "You wouldn't."

She grinned. "I'm a firm believer that if it's worth saying, it's worth saying with explosives."

As he watched her go, slowly and petulantly gathering an armful of shirts from the crate, Danny couldn't help but marvel at that last line. Somewhere deep inside, a part of him he was rarely in touch with stirred. It was the ever enduring part of him that was purely, unmistakably, and uncompromisingly _Fenton_. And it really tried it's level best to blurt out: 'Man, that's hot!'.

The best he could hope was that that one stayed in his head.

DP-DP-DP

Ember McClain sat on the couch in her dressing room with her feet up on the coffee table. Being a ghost, she didn't need any actual dressing because her outfit, like her body and guitar, were just ectoplasmic projections that she could alter at will if she really wanted to put her mind to it.

There was a bowl of candy coated chocolates beside her, all green, like her eyes. She didn't need those either, but it was part of her _thing_. Other ghosts called it an obsession, but she was a rocker all the way down to the core and it was part of her _thing_ to call her obsession her _thing_. Making petty but exacting orders of her venue was part of it as much as putting on the show, making the crowd chant for her, or trashing said dressing room after the show. It was part of what defined her and gave her power.

Take it away and she'd be a lost soul like the shades that acted as her back-up band and roadies; nearly powerless entities that no longer had anything of the person whose will and personality originally formed them in the ectoplasm in the first place left. They had no will, powers or personality of their own left and instead they molded themselves into images and roles suited to more powerful spirits like Ember. They were basically a manifestation of her powers themselves.

Sometimes she felt that she was a lost soul playing to the whims of an evil bigger ghost. But then she realized that she was really just dealing with the man who was both her manager and one of the owners of her record label, which if her dim memories of life were anything to go on was pretty much the same thing without the ghostly powers.

She had him on the phone now, the receiver held to her ear by her shoulder, leaving her hands free to strum her guitar. The voice coming at her on the other end was just a tiny bit too nasal to be pleasant, and the attitude behind it didn't help.

This was a man, Ember realized, who loved to hear himself talk. He might have heard of the concept of humility at some point in his life, but promptly rejecting it for not having enough to do with how great he was.

"And another thing." He was saying, adding to a list of things Ember wasn't actually listening to, "You're in Amity park, so I want you to be on high alert for this 'Inviso-Bill' character."

…Except that. That got Ember's attention well enough that she strummed an a-melodic chord on her guitar. "You mean that ghost hunter?" She asked, eyes narrowing. "But I thought this stupid thing you make me wear in my hair is supposed to make me and my crew undetectable."

That had been the deal at least: Ember got her afterlife's dream of being signed with a major label and touring along with the means to evade detection by ghost hunters like the Guys in White, and in return, her 'manager' got to siphon the ecto-energy she converted from the adoration of her fans.

"Undetectable to _human_ means of detecting ghosts, yes." said her manager, "But the word is that this 'Inviso-Bill' is actually a ghost the fights against other ghosts. It might even be his obsession."

Ember blew a raspberry. "So let Baby-pop throw down. I'm pretty sure I can take him." She patted her guitar just above what on a normal electric guitar would be a volume knob. Instead this one was marked with symbols: heart, a fist, a hypno-disk, and a sound wave.

"Don't be so sure." said her manager. "According to the Skulker, he's a formidable foe."

"Skulker tangled with him?" her eyebrows raised, "You know, I haven't heard from Skulker in a while."

"Oh he's fine." came the all too fast reply. "You know, doing hunter things like... hunting and covering himself in animal musk? Oh by the way, did you hear that this venue completely sold out?"

Just as intended, the last bit cause Ember's obsession to kick in, overriding her other thoughts. "It did? Hurricane rock!" She picked out a quick, joyous riff and threw up the horns.

"Yes..." said her manager. "Well now, go out there and knock 'em dead, Ember—and don't forget to let me know instantly if 'Inviso-Bill' shows up."

"Yeah, whatever." Ember said even as he hung up. She was on cloud nine. On tour, selling out shows—that was what it was all about. Forget her eternal reward or whatever, she was in heaven already. She reached down to the bowl of candy coated chocolates and her hand froze as her eye caught... was that... a red one?

Her eye twitched. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" She quailed, throwing the bowl to the floor in disgust, sending candy flying. Shooting to her feet, she raised a fist skyward at the cruel gos that were allowing this to happen. "I had _one_ request. ONE! All I want is a bowl of candy that's all the same color as my eyes! And every time, without fail, when I play this stupid venue, they screw it up!"

She checked the clock. There was time before the concert; time enough to pull some deviltry over the event organizers that allowed such a heinous thing to happen.

Shifting to spectral form, wherein she was little more than a ball of blue fire with a flaming tail following after like a stray comet, she flew through the door, looking for trouble.

DP-DP-DP

Danny and Tucker, both laden with t-shirts, made their way through the crowd, 'accidentally' dropping as many of the troublesome garments as they could without making it conspicuous should Sam suddenly return.

"Man, I'm glad _that's_ over." said Danny with a sigh of relief.

"Glad what's over?" Tucker asked, glancing down at the still too large load of shirts they were carrying.

"You know, the whole 'you being mad at me' thing." said Danny. "Yesterday was pretty terrible without my best bro having my back."

Tucker gave him a sidelong glance. "Who said I wasn't still mad at you?"

Only just catching himself form tripping, Danny goggled at the question. "What do you mean? Sam gave you the tickets and we're talking and everything."

"Dude. Just because I'm talking to you doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you—and I'm only doing that because Sam bribed me." Tucker folded his arms as best he could with his arms full.

"That is so not fair!" Danny groused. "I said I was sorry, what else do you want me to do?"

Tucker pretended to give it some thought. "Groveling wouldn't hurt. Seriously, you do understand what you did was entirely bogus."

So he'd been told, but Danny still didn't exactly enjoy being called out on it. "Well I'm sooo sorry that I cares about my best friend enough to try and save him from himself when there was a ghost involved! You know, I might have jumped the gun, and I might overdone things, but none of that would have happened if you hadn't come up with that scheme in the first place."

There were people staring now, openly annoyed at the ruckus they were causing. "Er... said the character in that movie I watched." he added lamely just as Tucker grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" The tech genius hissed. "It's called a 'secret' identity, not a 'shout it in a massive venue filled with people' identity." He ground his teeth angrily, "And by the way, that 'scheme' was working just fine until some jerk didn't go and break Desi's bottle."

"So now I'm a jerk?" Why yes, yes he was, Danny admitted, but Tucker didn't need to go and point it out like that. "And stop calling her 'Desi'. It makes it sound like you liked..." He trailed off and gears ticked along in his head. Of course, he _had_ made the accusation, but he hadn't believed it. It was just Tucker getting too wrapped up in one of his scams as usual.

Wasn't it?

His eyes narrowed. "No... come on Tuck, say it ain't so. You didn't actually have a thing for..." But it was written all over Tucker's face: heartbreak, the kind that Tucker characteristically _didn't_ display when he got turned down again and again. He'd even only been irritated when Valarie dumped him after the Fall Formal, and he'd actually pined for her.

If it had been any other girl and any other time, Danny wouldn't have hesitated to comfort his friend. Tucker had done that enough for him when he'd tried and failed time and time again with Paulina, first to win her heart, then to gain her notice, then to make her aware, even in the most peripheral sense that he existed as more than something Dash punched and kicked.

Except this was Desiree, who was a ghost. A _very_ old ghost. Not that he wouldn't have had the same visceral, knee-jerk reaction is, say, Star died that very day and Tucker started dating her shade the next.

"Dude!" He said, far too loudly. "Ew! That is... there's not even a word for how sick that is. That's like kissing my sister sick."

And at the worst possible time, some of the old Tuck emerged and waggled his eyebrows. "Well if it was me doing the—"

"She's pretty much your sister too now, Tuck." Danny said warningly. "And don't try to change one disgusting topic for another."

Tucker snarled and considered hitting Danny in the face with the T-shirts. "It's not disgusting. We... we had fun, okay? Enjoyed each other's company. In case you haven't noticed, I don't usually get that with girls. But you had to lose your cool and ruin it, Danny. And you think one concert—that you had to have your girlfriend come up with the idea for on your behalf—is going to fix that?"

DP-DP-DP

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sam burst out to no one in particular. A passing stage hand gave her an odd look. She slapped her forehead in irritation, muttered something about her best friends being children that couldn't get along for five minutes without 'mommy' around, and continued on.

DP-DP-DP

"Oh, whatever." Tucker replied to Danny's own response, too incensed to even tease him over it. "The point is that you wronged me, dude and you haven't even tried to make up for it." They were moving around the edge of the concessions area now, and fewer people were listening in.

Danny huffed unhappily. "What am I supposed to do? Go into the Ghost Zone and get her out? I thought you were supposed to be the smart guy on the team, but in case you didn't notice: we don't know a way in!"

"Well we know you're not the smart one." Tucker grumbled.

"What was that?!"

Tucked rearranged the shirts in his hands. "I said, you don't even know half of the stuff you ought to about the stuff at FentonWorks. Like that 'air purifier'? It's actually a machine for filtering ecto-energy out of objects. Not exactly useful, but that thing could ruin out equipment if we get too close." He sniffed smugly. "And by the way, we _do_ have a way into the get into the Ghost Zone."

Danny did a double take. "Wait. What?"

"The portal works, Danny." said Tucker, haughty to the last, "Every scan, every diagnostics check, every note I could find on it says it's fully operational—I just don't know how to turn it on."

They might have argued more over that if their ghost alarms didn't go off.

DP-DP-DP

Sam had been correct about her methods of getting backstage. The inch thick stack of hundreds was better than a credit card: it worked anywhere people weren't 100% moral.

Actually finding the pyro was another matter. Finding anyone actually working directly on Ember's show at all was proving to be impossible, in fact. The only people that seemed to be about were the venue's normal workers, and all they seemed to know about Ember's people were that all of them wore 'weird make-up.

And when they said that, they looked meaningfully at her eyeliner and purple lipstick. Pfft. Norms. She was actually starting to like Ember now, if only for her taste in fashion.

Speaking of which, she was getting plenty of leery looks at her shirt too. But no one made any fuss, something she would be sure to tell Tucker.

She was just about to give up and return to her friends when something blue and burning flew through the wall just next to her head—and ended up flying into her head. A jolt ran through her body, making her writhe and contort on her feet. Her muscles clenched, her teeth ground, and her normally violet eyes flared green.

One hand on the wall, she tried to steady herself and mentally pressed against whatever it was. Her eyes returned to normal.

But then she gasped loudly and stood suddenly straight, he eyes flickering wildly between colors before settling on green. She settled back with her hand on the wall.

"Ugh." said Ember McClain in Sam Manson's body. "What the heck did I run into... and why do I feel so warm and... gooey?" She looked at the hand bracing her against the wall. It lacked that pleasing shade of blue she was used to.

She blinked stupidly at it, then down at her body. "Whoa! I didn't even know I could do that Overshadowing thing. And..." She grabbed the bottom of the shirt and pulled it out so she could read it. Rage made her frame shiver. "And what the heck was this chick wearing THIS to MY concert!" She pulled the shirt of, thankful that there was a black crop top with a purple oval on the chest underneath, and hurled it to the ground.

For a moment, she took a moment to admire the ensemble. In addition to the crop top, there was a black and green plaid skirt, purple legwarmers, and big, black combat boots. "Hmm... chick's got style." Then she remembered the shirt, advertising for her competition. "Feh. Well good luck getting your body back, jerk. After the concert, I think I'll use it to do some good old fashioned hard livin'."

Laughing cruelly, she strutted back in the direction of her dressing room. For the first time in her after life, she actually needed to get make-up done. After all, the show must go on.

DP-DP-DP

**A/N:** Guess who's back? That's right, folks, I finished NANOWRIMO! Not only that, but I won with days to spare! Let the light, nerdish dancing begin! Oh, and since I last updated, I published my second book on Kindle, which you can find information on it on my site, descendantsserial DOT com.

But what we really care about is the return of The Phantom Reboot (Don't worry, TT and X-men fans, I have new chapters for those fics in the works too). I hope this was worth the wait. Like I said, there's a lot of ground to cover in this episode, from reintroducing the audience to Sam's agenda-based schemes, to continuing the Danny/Tucker conflict from All You Desire, to establishing Ember in the new continuity. This is probably going to take five parts instead of four.

No points for guessing who Ember's 'manager' is, but start placing bets on his long game. Hint: It requires a LOT of ecto-energy.

**Next Chapter: Episode 4 'The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 3- **Ember has and argument with her manager while Danny and Tucker investigate the ghost that set off their alarms. Can they figure out what's wrong in time? Find out in the next chapter of... The Phantom Reboot!


	15. The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 3

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 4: The Heart of Rock 'N Roll (Part 3)**

Danny had just changed his Ghost Alarm's tone to the theme from _Jaws _the day before. That morning, Tucker had changed his to _A Friend Like Me_. They both glared at one another when they heard.

But not nearly as hard as someone else. Both boys suddenly found themselves seized by the collar and lifted into the air.

"Did I just hear you losers playing non-Ember music?" They looked down to find that the arms holding them aloft belonged to one Dash Baxter. For the occasion of Ember's concert, the quarterback for the Casper High Ravens had traded in his usual red and white latter jacket for a blue and purple one: Ember's colors.

"Ew. Really? Right in before her concert even?" That was Paulina, who was decked out in a shirt with Ember's face, the rocker's trademark platform boots, and had her hair drenched in temporary die to get it the same color as Ember's. Star was at her side, sporting blue body make-up on her face and hands, while Valerie had just opted for a t-shirt and blue headband.

Desperate to forestall almost certain wedgie-ing, Tucker looked around. "Um... hey, where's Kwan? Pounding on both of us seems like too big a job for just you, Dash."

Usually, that worked, but somehow, defending Ember's honor seemed to focus Dash in ways that his usual bullying didn't. "Nice try _Sucker_, but I think I can handle it while Kwan's getting us refreshments. Now tell me the truth: was that non-Ember music?"

"Um..." Tucker looked to Danny, who was wincing and not being any help at all. Naturally, he was on his own for this one. "No. They're covers... but Ember..." He was thinking overtime, trying to come up with something. "...From back when she was just posting stuff on YouTube!"

It was hard to tell if the lie was working on Dash; there wasn't enough of a spark of intelligence in those mean, piggy eyes to tell when it was being put to work. Luckily, as dim bulbs went, some were just bright enough to prove they were lit.

"Really?" Asked Paulina. "I hadn't heard that."

Tucker was starting to choke from the pressure Dash was putting on his collar. "Yep. They were selling them at a kiosk... outside." He croaked.

That did it. Dash dropped them like third period French. "Then we'd better get there before they sell out!" He grabbed Valerie and Paulina by the wrists. "Come on girls!" He was off like a shot, dragging the two girls with Star in their wake.

"Whew. Good thing he didn't see these stupid shirts." Tucker said, tossing his bunch of Sam's t-shirts aside. "You can thank me now."

Danny shook his head and blinked back stars. "Wha?"

"For saving you from getting your face rearranged by Dash? Jeez, dude, I know you get all tunnel visioned and twitterpated, over Paulina, but even you have to notice when you're being manhandled."

Unfortunately for Tucker, there was only one word there that caught Danny's attention. ""Paulina? Paulina was here? Did she see me? How was my hair?"

"She saw you getting choke-slammed by Dash." Tucker snapped. "And just like every other time, she didn't care."

Danny sighed. "Some day... wait a minute—twitterpated? Another Dis—"

"Nevermind." Tucker cut him off. "What's with you? It's like you blacked out just now."

His friend shook his head and started to his feet, gathering up a few of his share of the shirts in the process. "I don't know. The last thing I remember is the ghost alarm, glaring at you... then my head hurt really bad and I zoned out."

Tucker frowned. He might have been angry with Danny, but the guy was his best friend; the closest thing he had to a brother, and he still cared about his well-being. "Think it might be connected to the alarm? You know, ghost related?"

"Probably." Danny agreed. "Come on, let's find that putrid pile of ectoplasm fast before the concert starts."

And just like that, the good will was gone. "Why's it got to be 'putrid'? It could be a neutral or even friendly ghost." Tucker demanded.

Danny sighed. "Okay,let's pretend," Tucker growled, "... I mean assume that there is such a thing as a friendly ghost. Think about where we are: a massive music hall, crammed with teenagers amped up over Ember? This is like an all-you-can-eat ghost buffet and it wouldn't be that hard to stir something up here. I highly doubt any ghost hanging out here is going to be good."

Unable to argue with that logic, Tucker just nodded and produced a hand held device from one of his many concealed PDA holsters: his sleeker, more accurate rebuild of the original Fenton Finder. "Fine. I've got the Specter Seeker right here. Let's track them down quick."

DP-DP-DP

Back in her dressing room, Ember (in Sam's body) reclined in her make-up chair as a pair of lost souls, transformed by her power into doting make-up techs, covered her in blue latex body paint.

A fresh bowl of all-green candies say at her right hand as she typed on an open laptop with her left. After a few commands, a video chat window came up. On it was a creature from a 50's horror movie. His skin was blue, a shade or two off Ember's own, his eyes blood red, and his hair black an swept up to resemble horns. He wore all white, with a red-lined cape, and when he spoke, he bared vampiric fangs.

"What is it this time, Ember. I'm a busy man and..." He stopped, mid-rant to squint at her. "What in the name of Farve happened to you?"

Ember smirked. "Good question. I didn't even know I could overshadow people, but I ran into this chick here and, well, I think I'm stuck."

"What do you mean 'stuck'?"

"Exactly what I said." She huffed, "I thought it would be fun having a coffin-stuffer to cruise around in again, but now I remember how much it sucks! The clothes are itchy, it gets hungry, if you don't remember to swallow once in a while, you start drooling, and my god, the hormones and other chemical crap! It feels like there's some idiot having a one sided argument in the back of my head!"

She grabbed a handful of candies, brought them to her mouth, then stopped. "Yellow?! What the hell?! And it's _peanut_! None of the other ones are peanut!"

The vampiric creature, her manager, checked his watch. "And so you're stuck."

Throwing the whole bowl on the floor, Ember shrugged. "Yeah, I can't get out. And seeing as you know about this stuff, I was hoping you had some pointed on, you know, not re-dying."

Her much put upon manager sighed. "Just eat, drink and sleep when you feel like it. It looks like you're planning to go through with the concert regardless, so I'll find a way to separate you afterward."

The dressing room door opened and another lost soul, this one taking the form of a gopher (who looked a little like an actual gopher thanks to Ember's twisted sense of humor), entered carrying a platter from the catering truck. It was mostly deli meats and cheeses, along with a couple of long loafs used to make sandwiches for the stage crew.

"Way ahead of you on the nomming front." said Ember, grabbing up a roll of thin sliced turkey.

When she put it into her mouth, however, the result was electric. She shivered as if shocked, and her eyes flashed over from green to violet.

"Pah! What the heck?!" Sam spat the turkey out and frantically scrubbed her tongue. Her eyes lit on the gopher. "Did you just try and trick me into eating meat? You're in serious trouble..."

In the meantime, her other senses were starting to catch up with her mouth. "Where am I anyway? And why am I blue?!"

Ember's manager gave her a curious look. He knew that voice, had heard it recently, in fact. And he'd seen eyes that color too. Now that he thought about it, the shape of the face also..."

At that point, Sam's litany of questions finally got around to the vampire on the computer screen beside her who seemed to be watching her. In her current state of confusion, she didn't have time to be concerned, just angry and confused and angrily confused. "Who the heck are you anyway?"

The vampire blinked for a moment, thought, then raised his arms high waggling his fingers while affecting the most degrading Eastern European accent imaginable. "Blah! Und kids: don't forget to buy my new, extra chocolatey cereal! Blah!"

Now it was Sam's turn to stare. "Oh please, as if—" Another jolt ran through her and her eyes flashed back to green.

"Ugh." Ember held her head. "That felt all sort of not good."

"More 'not good' than you can imagine!" shouted her manager. "I know that girl. I saw her just yesterday: hand in hand with Daniel Fenton."

As much as living dangerously and dying young was ingrained into her thing, Ember wasn't stupid or crazy and was perfectly capable of fear. "Hold on a second—you mean 'Fenton' as in 'the reason most folks _still_ don't leave the ghost zone Fentons? Those Fentons?"

"Madeline and her oafish husband, yes." said her manager. "Daniel is their son and it seems you've managed, against all odds to overshadow his girlfriend."

"Crud." Ember winced.

"'Crud' indeed. I was worried about Inviso-Bill, but as the son of trained ghost hunters, Daniel is one person who might have a chance of discovering you despite my countermeasures." said her manager. "We'll have to call off the concert until I can figure out a way to get you out o the girl. Luckily, I have some idea of why this happened now th—"

"Call off the concert?" Ember exploded. "Are you NUTS?! Not in a billion years, dipstick! She leapt out of the make-up chair and in an instant, he guitar was in her hands.

Her manager snarled. "Are you insane? Well, of course you are, but that's not the point! I have plans for the energy you've been generating and with a few more concerts, they'll come to fruition. You can't risk that."

Ember rounded on him. "Screw your plans, grandpa." She strummed her guitar. "Fish gotta swim." Another strum, "Bird's gotta fly." Strum. "And a diva's gotta _ROCK_!" She deftly turned the dial on the guitar to the fist symbol and shredded out a power chord that was accompanied by a fist shaped bold of orange force that slammed into the laptop, dashing it to pieces against the wall.

Satisfied that she had a start on trashing the dressing room on top of some good, old fashioned youthful rebellion, Ember headed out the door. "Let's get this show started."

DP-DP-DP

"If you're not part of the crew, you don't get back here. Plain and simple."

The security guy looked like a shaved buffalo as he squinted down at Danny and Tucker.

The former was holding his temples thanks to another sudden onset headache. "Look. We're not trying to get back there to see Ember."

"Well, he's not." said Tucker.

Danny ignored him. "We're just trying to find our friend—honest!" an idea came to mind. "Um.. the one I'm guessing, that gave you a pile of money to let her back there?"

"I thought we were looking for the gho—OH!" Tucker exclaimed thanks to Danny's elbow finding his gut. "Right. Sam. We're here to find Sam."

The security guy regarded them for a moment. "A girl about this tall," He held his hand at about Sam's height, "Skinny?"

"Yep." said Danny.

"Dark clothes, big honkin' boots?"

"Yep."

"Shirt that ought to get her kicked out?"

"Oh Yeah."

"Wad of bills like this?" He pulled out the thick stack Sam had bribed him.

"Definitely."

"You got a wad of bills like this too?"

"Um..." said Danny.

"Not exactly." Tucker admitted.

"Then get lost." The security guy stowed the money back in his sport coat before crossing his arms in a 'I am not above beating you like you stole something' pose.

Just then, Ember rounded the corner, full 'Ember' make-up on Sam's body and guitar in hand.

Tucker let out a high pitched squeal that gave Danny a new and unique headache. "Ember! It's Ember! I'm standing in the same hall as Ember! Hey, Ember! Can I have your autograph!?"

Ember paused beside the security guy and look Tucker up and down. "I usually deal with crazed fans _after_ the concert. You're early kid.

"Huh." said Danny. "You don't look that much like your magazine covers."

"That better mean I look better in person." Ember ground Sam's teeth.

The security guy cracked his knuckles. "You want I should get 'em out of your face Miss Ember?"

A malicious grin spread across Ember's borrowed face. "Now that sounds like fun. How about y-y-you." She struggled with the word as her whole face twitched. She screwed her eyes closed in the process of fighting what was going on, and when she next opened her eyes, they were violet.

"Danny?" Sam asked in her own voice. "Tucker?"

Danny cocked his head to the side in confusion. "How do you know our names."

Sam made a rude noise. "What are you talking about? We came here together, remember?"

The two boys looked at her, then at each other, then back to her. Danny leaned closer, feeling the soft buzz in the back of his head he'd come to recognize. "Sam?"

"Duh." she said and went to slap herself on the forehead, pausing when she looked down and saw that her hand was blue, just like the weird flash she'd gotten earlier. Before she could give this any thought, however, a fanboyish squeal came from Tucker.

"Oh my god! I get it now—Danny: Sam _is_ Ember! That's the real reason she's so loaded. It's like she's leading a double life—how cool is that?" He was greeted by a roaring silence as Sam and Danny stared dully at him, waiting for him to remember that he already had one friend with a double life.

This in no way dampened his ardor. "And that means we get to hang backstage all way want to—right, best friend o' mine?" He hopped over to her and tossed an arm over her shoulder.

Sam twitched as her eyes were overtaken by green and Ember reasserted herself. He first action was to shove Tucker away roughly. "Okay, first off: hands off the merchandise."

"Jeez, sorry." Tucker pouted. "Come on, Danny. We've got a ghost to investigate. _Without_ Sam."

Ember's train of thought came to a screeching halt as she realized that Sam must have given her identity despite the makeup. That, and here in front of her was a Danny who was investigating ghosts. There was zero chance that this wasn't Danny Fenton of the ghost-hunting Fentons. The one whose girlfriend her manager had said she'd just overshadowed.

"Aw crud." she muttered as the boy started to walk off. "Um... sorry about that guys." She said, trying to mimic Sam's voice and doing at least a passable job. She threaded her arm around Danny's and dragged him to a stop. "Just a little on edge, you know? But how about we head back tot he dressing room, uh..."

She did a quick estimation of Danny: goofy, confused look on his face, weird hair, outlandish belt. Yeah, despite her involuntary host's goth attire, there would be pet names in that relationship. "...pookie?"

"Pookie?" Danny looked even more shocked and confused.

Ember wanted to slap herself. Pookie? All the pet names in the world and she'd taken her shot with _pookie_? Who said pookie? Wasn't that Garfield's teddy bear? She laughed nervously. "Just... trying it out. Because, you know... pet names and... stuff."

Master manipulator she wasn't.

Tucker gave them a strange look. "You two are dating now?"

Danny looked dazed and the headache he had coming on didn't help get his head in the game. "We..." He looked at Ember, "Are?" There was a lilt of happiness in that, balanced by uncertainty and a need for plausible deniability.

Even if she wasn't good at manipulation, Ember heard all that loud and clear. "We're not." She said with the realization, them muttered, "Nice read on 'em bossman."

Before either boy could question her, she used her arm locked in Danny's to swing him around into Tucker. While they recovered, Ember unslung her guitar and turned the knob to the fist symbol again. "Now we do this _my_ way!" With a single stroke, she sent a wave of sonic force slamming into them, knocking them out.

Ember smirked down at them, triumphant, then looked over to the security guy. "You got a problem with that?"

He shrugged, entirely nonplussed. "Eh, not the first time a performer blasted a couple of people into a wall, then dragged their unconscious bodies back to the dressing room. Really, its nothing worse than the Taylor Swift gig I had last week."

DP-DP-DP

I'm back! Sorry for the delay, but I've been busy, oh so busy with my original works. As much as I love doing fics, they're not the stories people are giving me money for, ya know? I think I'm squared away for a bit now, ans will return to productivity on all fronts.

This chapter was also kind of hard to write, because I wanted to do more with Ember, but the overshadowing story needed to take precedence. Luckily, I've always planned on Ember to be a recurring pain in Danny's butt, so she'll be back after this.

Next time on the Phantom Reboot: **The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 4** – The boys have been captured by Ember!While waiting for her to deliver their doom at the end of the concert, they get a little help from an unexpected source. But can they really fight Sam, even if she is being controlled by Ember? Find out in the next installment of... The Phantom Reboot!


	16. The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 4

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 4: The Heart of Rock 'N Roll (Part 4)**

_Duuuh-dun._

That was not a good sound, Danny thought as consciousness returned to him.

_Duuuh-dun._

Definitely a bad sound. That was the sound clip he'd put on his ghost alarm!

He tried to move, but found something flexible and restrictive binding his arms to his sides. Someone groaned and shifted positions next to him—probably Tucker.

_Duh-dun. Duh-dun._

Did everything he remembered happening happen for real? Sam turned out to be Ember, but not really... which meant Ember was _controlling_ Sam. And there was only one thing Danny knew that could control people like that: being overshadowed. Which meant that Ember, teen idol and the flavor of the month at Casper High was, in reality an undead monster from another dimension!

Which, given the kind of stuff everyone he knew listened to wasn't all the surprising, especially to hear Sam tell it.

_Duh-dun-duh-dun-duh-dun._

A ghostly chill came over the room. Most likely Ember coming back to finish him and Tucker off. Evidently, Tucker was awake too, because Danny heard him gasp. That was all he needed to hear to open his own eyes.

They were tied up in the power and modem cables of a broken laptop, sitting side by side on a couch in a dressing room. The last of Sam's t-shirts were strewn on the floor at their feet, and on the coffee table before them, there was a large, glass bowl of green candy coated chocolates.

And standing on the other side of the table was a ghost.

His skin was lightly tinted green; too green to be conceivably human, but not garishly so. He had a goatee and brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. Dull, red eyes were fixed on a package of the same kind of candies as were in the bowl as he phased his fingers through the wrapper.

He came up with a green one and sighed. "Oh man, how man green ones are even in this bag?" He tried again and came up with a brown one. "Dude. Perfect." And he carefully buried the brown piece under the sea of green.

"That... seems really petty." said Tucker.

Danny tried to elbow him, but ended up tipping over and knocking his head on the other boy's shoulder. "Tuck? Maybe we shouldn't rile up any more of them?"

But the ghost didn't seem to take any offense at all. "Sha. Like, what's really petty is ordering four bowls of all-green candy just tonight. Diva-girl is so not feeling the spirit of music."

With some effort, Danny got himself back up to sitting position and glared at the ghost. "And let me guess, you want revenge on her for it and will haunt this place until you get that revenge... which I'm guessing will be music themed."

The ghost gave him a blank look, which was a feat, as every look he gave anything was pretty blank to start with. "Nah, I'm good just prankin' her. You know, the candies, makin' stuff in here hard to break when she wants to trash the join—stuff like that. Kid needs a lesson, cause she's acting totally not righteous."

Tucker cocked his head to the side. "Wait. So your obsession is pranking Ember?"

"Nah man, tweakin' the divas: that's just somethin' I do for fun. My _thing_ is groovin' to some really killer tracks and helping other folks do the same." He grinned wanly. "M' name's on the place after all. It's like totes the least I can do."

"Name's on the..." Tucker started aloud, "Kevin Strummer? That's you?"

The ghost—Kevin—nodded. "Sure thing, bro. And believe me, Miss Diva totes deserves this. She's the one that tied you dudes up, ya know? I heard her say she'd 'take care' of you after her show." A glint of intelligence flashed in his dull eyes. "Oh. Right. I should probably untie you guys, 'cause whatever she plans on doin'll totally be not righteous."

Without another through, he reached out, grabbed the cord binding the boys, and phased it off them.

Danny immediately leapt up, turning the dial on the Ghost Battlin' Belt as he did. "I'm go for..."

Even before the transformation was done, Tucker had grabbed his friend and pulled him back. "What's the matter with you? Seriously? He just freed us."

"Freed us so he could do something worse!" Danny said, but petered out in the middle. "Okay, that was probably one of those 'too far' moments, huh?" He looked at Kevin warily. "Are you _sure_ you're not going to attack us?"

Kevin shrugged. "Why would I do that? I'm not a fighter, I'm a music lover, bro. By the way, can I have one of these shirts?" He picked up one of Sam's t-shirts.

"Man, you'd be doing us a favor taking all of them." said Tucker.

"That's it?" Said Danny with a mix of disbelief and disappointment. He's really wanted to punch something after being knocked out so easily earlier. "No crazy bargain? No insane demands? All you want is a t-shirt?"

Another shrug from Kevin, and he held up a shirt. "Dude, seriously, have you seen the shirts? These are some killer bands and I only get to hear 'm on the MP3 player of the maintenance guy around here." A grin appeared on his face. "Oh hey, if I untie you, will you get me my own MP3 player with these guys on it?"

Danny and Tucker exchanged looks.

"You already untied us." Danny pointed out.

"Oh. Sha, right." said Kevin. "Never mind then." A long, uncomfortable silence sank in for a few moments before he broke it, "So I guess I'll be headin' out then. Later." He waved before sinking into the floor with the rest of the t-shirts.

Danny stared at the spot Kevin had just vacated. "I fight ghosts and... that's weird even for me."

"But on the other hand, I get to say I told you so." smirked Tucker.

"About what?"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Don't 'about what' me. _You_ just got your bacon saved by a ghost. A _non-evil_ ghost. My point is proven, you can't refute it, and that means I win the argument." Danny started to speak, but Tucker held up a hand, "Ah-ah. No rules lawyering. That guy was so not evil. There's no way you can weasel out of admitting it now."

"Fine. Whatever" Danny grunted, weaseling out of it for all he was worth, "But the important thing is for us to use to come up with a plan to fight Ember and save Sam. Any ideas?"

Tucker started looking around the room for things they could use. "Well that's gonna be a problem, isn't it? We've never actually tun into a real overshadowing before. All we've got to work with are your parent's notes. The one thing we've got going for us is that Sam seemed to be able to fight it when Ember tried to kill us."

"Yeah, wish we knew how to make that happen again—you know, without the 'almost being killed' thing." said Danny, joining in the hunt. There wasn't much in the room, just the candy, a smashed laptop, a catering platter, a tub of blue body paint, and a shopping bag from the souvenir stand with a recipe for an 'Ember' outfit and Sam's clothes stuffed inside.

Tucker spotted the catering tray, overflowing the deli meats and all the fixin's. "Mmm, looks like this is a job for my emergency stash of Mansons." He declared, producing the box of deli toothpicks before setting to work building a huge sandwich.

"Get serious Tuck." said Danny with a disapproving scowl. "Ember could be back at any minute!"

"You mean like this minute right here?"

Both boys turned to find Ember darkening the doorway to the dressing room. The opposite of darkening, actually: Sam's hair—spray died and pulled back into an Ember-esque ponytail, was aflame and the blue flare of it extended out behind her like a second, larger ponytail, which almost filled the door behind her and cast the room in blue light.

Ember narrowed her eyes at Danny. "So you must be Inviso-Bill. Looks like you already saved the Fenton kid, but if you think you're getting' out of here with the technogeek, you don't know jack." A feral grin appeared on her lips as she switched her guitar to the skull setting. "I hear you're strong. But _I_ just got done absorbing a whole town-ful of teenaged adoration. Let's rock, dipstick!"

She unleashed a scathing riff that launched a flaming, purple skull at Danny, who flew up and over to avoid it while at the same time igniting his fists with ecto-energy. The skull blasted a hole in the wall behind him.

"Last chance to get out of my friend, and go back o the Ghost Zone on your own." Danny tried to sound confident. " He lobbed a few weak ghost rays her way, which were easily batted away by her guitar.

"Ha! Nobody tells me what to do! Now I'm _never_ coming out—even if I knew how!" Ember shredded on her guitar, sending a barrage of skulls at Danny. He dodged admirably, but one clipped his shoulder and sent him spinning until he slammed into a wall.

A flash of violet, and Sam gasped as she watched him bounce off the wall and onto the ground. "Danny! Are you okay?"

But as soon as she saw it, Ember reasserted control. "I sure hope not." She raised her hand dramatically; ready to play a power chord to put an end to Inviso-Bill.

Only Sam wasn't going to let got that easily. Her right eye flickered back to violet and the raised hand trembled with the battle of wills being fought over it. "Oh no you don't, you talentless corporate pop-robot. You might have killed music, but I'm not letting you hurt my friend."

Ember's hair flared with her anger. "Did you just call me _talentless_? Oh it is _so_ on." She gritted her teeth and let go of he guitar, balling both hands into fists as she concentrated. Ever so slowly, her violet eye gave way to green once again.

"Ha!" said a triumphant Ember. "Take that, baby-pop." She grabbed her guitar again. Now where was I?"

In the next moment, Danny, who had recovered in the interim, tackled her to the floor. "You were about to announce your farewell tour!"

Across the room, still constructing his sandwich, Tucker took stock of what was going on. It seemed that Sam could fight, but only for as long as she felt something more strongly than Ember. The problem was, as a ghost, Ember was pretty much a font of obsession and desire given shape. She inherently felt more strongly about everything than a normal human could. It was really saying something that Sam could fight at all.

Ember looked up at Danny with eyes full of hate. "Nobody sends me on a farewell tour, chump. Never again." She whipped her hair forward, wrapping him around the neck with her burning tresses. Another whip, hurled him straight up to smash into the ceiling. By the time he came crashing back down, she'd rolled to the side.

Coming up on a knee, she raised her guitar to hit him in the back when Sam started fighting back again, causing her to hesitate.

The last piece of the puzzle fell into place for Tucker: Sam _could_ fight back against Ember, but only when it came to things so abhorrent to her that her righteous indignation refused to let her go through with it. That of course meant killing her friends, but...

A self-satisfied grin came to his face and he paused with his sandwich an inch from his lips, repositioning it in his hands. If there was one thing he knew for certain about Sam... He almost laughed. "Not the first time I've trusted my life to the kind of sturdy sandwich construction you can only get with a Manson Brand deli toothpick." he mused.

Tucker was a technogeek to the bone. He was also smaller than most of his class thanks to having been skipped ahead a year in the first grade. He would never be a great football star. However, over the past months of being Danny Phantom's mission control, he'd had a lot of practice running, climbing, and yes, throwing the Fenton Thermos to his best friend in life or afterlife situations. As a result, he had a hell of an arm; probably as good as Dash Baxter's.

But Dash had never bet his survival as well as the fates of his two best friends on throwing a hoagie in a nice, tight spiral. Which was exactly what Tucker did.

Just as Sam's resolve was breaking, the sandwich landed right in her mouth with a payload of roast beef and turkey. The outraged scream she let out next could probably have been heard all the way in space.

"Tucker!" She shouted after yanking the hoagie out of her mouth. "If this ghost doesn't kill you, I am so going to! Do you have any idea how many animals suffered for this.. this _thing_?!" Unnoticed once again, Danny was getting to his feet.

"Don't know, don't care." said Tucker, "But what I _do_ know is that making you eat meat gets you made enough to overcome Ember."

Sam sputtered. "Oh no. You can't be serious. There's got to be another way. "Green started to creep into her eyes and she unconsciously started to lift the guitar.

"Sorry Sam. "Danny snatched the sandwich from her and stuffed it back in her mouth. "But it does look like he's right." He winced. "And that wasn't a very nice thing to think about me."

With stomach churning, Sam jerked away from him, only this time, she held the sandwich in place. With a murderous look, she worked at speaking through their mental link. Danny gave her a sympathetic look and turned to Tucker. "She wants to know if she's going to have to keep the sandwich in her mouth the whole time until we solve the Ember problem."

"From what I can guess," Tucker said, addressing Sam, "You can only fight Ember while you're doing something you're strongly against."

Sam once more sent her thoughts to Danny, who translated. "She wants to know why she can't just keep hitting us or something."

Tucker scoffed, "Because clearly she doesn't feel that strongly against hitting us to stop Ember from doing it unless it's going to be a killing blow. Look, instead of keeping the sandwich in your mouth, how about just taking a teensy bite whenever you feel like Ember is trying to take control again?"

"I'm... not going to repeat what she just called you." said Danny after a pause.

Folding his arms, Tucker gave her a petulant look. "You think I _want_ you eating the sandwich I made for myself? That's Glorydale Farms deli meat—I could tell by the smell. It's high quality; you can't just go to the grocery store and get that, and it's like fifty dollars a pound. Even the water they use in making it is filtered mountain..." He trailed off as a thought hit him.

"Filtered! That's it!"

Both Danny and Sam had the same thought, which Danny gave voice to: "Tuck, can we get off the meat rant and back to helping Sam?"

"You guys don't get it, that's what I'm doing!" Tucker said, excited. "Danny, remember what I said about your parents' 'air purifier'?"

Now Danny brightened with understanding. "The one that filters out ecto-energy! If we send Sam through it, maybe it'll filter out Ember too!"

Sam hesitantly took a bite of the sandwich so she could speak. All the while, she grimaced at the taste. "If you guys are sure it's safe, let's hurry then—I'd rather not ingest more carrion than I need to." When both of the boys seemed to quiet, she looked back and forth between them. "You... are sure it's safe, right?"

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** Hey all. Like I said, this story was more complex than I intended, so it's going to be five parts instead of four. With luck, I'll have the conclusion up in the next week or so.

Not a whole lot to say this time around. The line about throwing a sandwiches 'in a nice, tight spiral' is actually a CSI reference and I'll give a digital cookie to whoever reviews with the character and context of the original line.

Oh, and the ghost of Kevin Strummer is based on the guy in the flying car in 'What You Want'. I'm normally very careful about using OC's, but I needed a good/neutral ghost here to put the nail in the coffin of Danny's 'all ghosts are evil' illusions and none of the canon ones were really appropriate.

**Next Chapter, Episode 4: Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 5 – **The trio hurry to free Sam from Ember, but things don't go quite as well as expected. And a Very Special Guest shows up at the end for some foreshadowing.


	17. The Heart of Rock 'N Roll Part 5

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 4: The Heart of Rock 'N Roll (Part 5)**

By the time that reached FentonWorks, Sam was looking green in ways that had nothing to do with ghosts.

"Seriously..." She groaned, looking at the quarter of a sandwich she had left. The meat was mocking her, she was sure of it. "I think I'd rather have just let Ember take my body."

"Aw, you don't mean that." Tucker clapped her on the back, which made her stomach churn violently.

Forcing down her gorge, Sam shot him a pitiless glare. "I am going to be so sick when this is over. And when I am? I'm aiming for you."

"Just a few more bites, Sam. We'll put you through the Ghost Catcher, use the Fenton Bazooka on Ember, and everything will be back to normal." Danny unlocked the door and stood aside to let them in. "And once we're done, we'll get you a nice salad."

The crawling feeling of Ember trying to take over again came over Sam and she forced herself to take another bite of the sandwich, shuddering the whole time. "Thanks, Danny. This has been the worst day."

They trio headed straight to the basement, where Tucker went to the Ghost Catcher to get it online and operational. Sam flopped down on the floor in front of one of the lab tables laden with Tucker's latest batches of experimental Fenton Foam. With nothing better to do, Danny sat down beside her, still in Phantom mode just in case.

"On the bright side," He offered, "me and Tucker are back on speaking terms, so there's that."

"I'm still mad at you!" Tucker said from where he was working.

Danny rubbed the back on his head. "I said 'speaking terms', not good terms."

Sam fixed him with one of her patented look, compounding it with a disappointed feeling in their mental link. "You still haven't apologized for real, have you?"

Sighing, Danny folded his hands in his lap and stared at them. "Maybe." He looked over to Tucker. "Hey Tuck? Listen, I'm still not, you know, one hundred percent sure about it, but after we met Strummer's ghost and saw that the worst thing he's been doing was pranking Ember, I guess I've got to admit that Maybe Desiree wasn't evil. And if there was anything I could do to fix it..."

Sam's eye twitched. She tried to lift the remnants of the sandwich, but fumbled them onto the floor. Neither Danny, nor Tucker saw her eyes changing color.

"He..." Ember worked to make her voice sound like Sam's. "was pranking Ember? How?"

Danny shrugged. "Something dumb."

The Ghost Catcher hummed to life, the strands that made up the 'dreamcatcher' design becoming charged with ectoplasm until they glowed a toxic green. Tucker stood back with his hands on his hips, a smirk of pride on his lips. "Yeah, just dropping a different colored candy in her bowl. I don't even get why it counts as a prank."

"HE WHAT?!" A discordant sound of strings preceded at fist of ecto-energy slamming into the Ghost Catcher's external ring. The machine shifted on its base, then tipped over in a crash and a shower of sparks.

"Hey!" Tucker squawked, "Why you—oh crud! Danny!"

By the time Danny started to turn, the guitar was already on its way to catching him in the face. The impact sent him flying across the lap to slam into one of the equipment lockers hard enough to dent it.

Ember, hair burning like a blue magnesium flare, floated off the ground, guitar in hand, green eyes blazing. "And you let him? This is _unforgivable!_ That's it, dipsticks. No more Missus Nice Diva. I'm about to bring the _pain_!"

"Trust me, nothing's a painful as listening to your crummy music!" Danny peeled himself out of the dented locker and fired off a lance of ecto-energy of his own. But Ember's hair suddenly flipped forward over her head and expanded into a quarter dome that deflected the blast into a wall.

"Everyone's a critic." Ember spat. "But I'll tell you who liked it: that hall full of people that were chanting my name today. And thanks to them, I'm _way_ too powerful for you, baby." Turning the dial of her guitar to a symbol indicating pure sonic waves, she let loose with a wicked guitar riff that pulsed through the air toward Danny.

Thinking fast, Danny dropped down through the floor to avoid the attack and surfaced behind Ember. Before she could figure out where he'd gone, he slammed into her from behind and locked his arms around her, pinning her own arms to her sides.

"Tucker!" he shouted. "Get the Ghost Catcher back up, quick!"

From where he stood over the fallen devise, Tucker shook his head. "No good! It's trashed! It'll take me a week at least to fix this!"

Ember laughed at this. "Oh. Too bad. So sad. Looks like you're stuck with me just like I'm stuck with _her_!" Flying straight up, she hammered Danny into the ceiling before dropping down and doing the same against the floor.

Despite the battering, Danny hung on and leaned past the burning hair to talk through gritted teeth into her ear. "Come on, Sam. We could really use your help right about now."

"Sorry." Ember flew them into a wall. "Sam's not in right now. And if I get my way, she's not comin' back." Turning in air, she shot them toward the lab table Sam had been sitting against.

As she did, Danny's eye fell on the contents of the table. '_The Fenton Foam!_' He thought. '_Maybe, just maybe..._'. At the last minute, he flipped them around so that it was Ember hitting the table instead of him. The nearest beakers tipped or shattered, dousing both of them in various iterations of the ectoplasm disrupting substance.

Green and black sparks crackled and exploded around Danny as the foam reacted violently to the ectoplasm of the Danny Phantom suit. They temporarily blinding him, but he heard Ember screaming in surprise and pain. They bounced off the table and landed in a tangle of limbs on the cold, concrete floor, Ember on top.

Danny blinked away the blindness in time to see a ball of blue foxfire leap out of the back of Sam's head and resolve into a cackling Ember McClane.

"Ha! I'm finally out! No more stupid hunger, or icky warmth! I'm back, baby!" A green bolt of energy burst in the air just over her head and transformed into a swirling vortex to the ghost zone. "I'm—wait, what?" Ember looked up as she felt the pull of the temporary portal. "No! No! This isn't fair! I just..."

But it was too late. The portal generated by the Fenton Bazooka pulled her in ponytail first, then winked out of existence. Both Danny and Sam looked over to find Tucker, posing like an action hero with the bazooka.

"Guess she's not going to be giving an encore tonight." He said coolly. Then he tried to spin the big cannon on his finger by the trigger guard, ending up launching it behind him where it hit the Ghost Catch in another shower of sparks. "Aw man! That's like _another _week's work!"

Danny and Sam laughed at the exact same time. "Back to normal? Danny asked, ignoring the fact that she was sitting on his stomach.

She smiled down at him. "I'm doing good." Then her stomach gurgled and her face took on a green tint. "Maybe not!"

As promised, as aimed at Tucker.

DP-DP-DP

In a darkened hotel room, a fist slammed into the cherry wood desk upon which sat a top of the line Mastersoft Executive Plus laptop with Portals XXL Diamond Edition. The dark figure at the desk, Ember's manager, had just gotten off the phone with the music hall. Ember and all her staff had vanished without a trace and eyewitnesses placed Inviso-Bill at the scene.

"Blast! That rogue ghost is giving me nothing but headaches. And without Ember, my plans will be significantly slowed." He rested his forehead in a claw-like hand and thought a bit. :Of course, it wouldn't feel right executing my plan unless Maddie is there to see my final moment of triumph. Hmm... Inviso-Bill appeared shortly after I last had contact with Maddie and the _idiot_. Maybe he has something to do with it..."

He smiled a cruel, fanged smile. "Well if that's the case," There was a flash of not-light as a ring of utter darkness appeared around his midsection. It split into two, one traveling upward while the other headed down. As they moved, they transformed blue skin to a typical Caucasian skin tone, the white suit and cape to a black, three-piece Armani, and the vampire monster became none other than Vlad Masters. "I'll have to make him pay. Then I'll make him tell me exactly what happened."

With renewed vigor, he placed another call. A voice answered him on the second ring. "So how's Amity? Did you get me a souvenir? I'd really like a 'Most Haunted Town In America snow-globe for my collection. Oh, and an Ember T-shirt."

"Souvenirs will have to wait." Vlad said tersely.

"That bad?" the voice at the other end deadpanned.

"Worse. I need you to launch drones through the portal to locate Ember. And after that, I need you to look up some stock footage of this Inviso-Bill for a little project I'd like you to undertake..."

DP-DP-DP

Somewhere in the infinite realms of the Ghost Zone, Ember McClane sat on a floating hunk of rock and simmered in her anger. Whatever goop had gotten spilled on her had sapped almost all of the power she'd gained from her last concert and the stupid machine Masters had made her wear had taken the rest, leaving her flame hair lank.

Not just lank—she was pretty sure she saw some split ends. And seeing as her hair was made of ghostly fire, that didn't even make sense!

"Stupid Masters and his stupid plan." She grumbled, looking out at the green and black swirling infinite of the Ghost Zone. Where she'd landed, she could only see a few other slabs of floating rock and a few bobbing clusters of purple doors far off. "Stupid Skulker for getting me involved int this whole stupid thing."

Growling, she snatched the scrunchie-shaped device off her hair and glared daggers at it. "From now on, I'm going solo!" With that,s he threw the thing as hard and far as she could into the void.

Still fuming, she unslung her guitar and set it down so it was floating in air. She hopped aboard it like a surfboard and made ready to fly off. "Time to jam out of here and fine my _own_ way into the human realm!"

Her movement was arrested by a heavy hand coming down and gripping her shoulder almost painfully. "Ah-ah-ah, little lady." said a powerful, no-nonsense voice. "See, I just expended my demesne into this here region of the Ghost Zone. That means you're trespassin'. Now, I might've let ya off for that..."

A second hand was thrust in front of her face. It was holding the device she'd just thrown away. "Then I caught ya litterin'. And trespassin' _and_ litterin'? That's against the rules."

DP-DP-DP

A half hour after Ember was expelled from FentonWorks, Tucker finally returned to the lab from using the shower. He was wearing one of Danny's white t-shirts with the oval on it and sans his beret. "That. Was so nasty." He deadpanned.

Sam was sitting on a stool at one of the lab tables, eating an apple Danny grabbed for her from upstairs to cleanse he pallet. "I am_ so, so_ sorry about that, Tucker." she said, face reddening. "I wasn't actually aiming for you, I was trying to make it to the trash can, and you were in the way and... I'll totally replace your clothes, I promise."

"And pay for my Nasty Burger for a week." Tucker said.

"Sure." She said. "Whatever it takes."

"I would have held out for a month." Danny laughed from his place beside Sam.

Tucker slapped himself on the forehead for not thinking of that. Then he gave Danny a considering look. "Speaking of people with stuff to make up to me: did you mean it when you said you wished there was a way to fix what happened to Desiree?"

Danny leaned back with his elbows on the lab table. Having been the one to fight Ember and the one to clean up the oh-so-delightful cocktail of Fenton Foam and vomit form the lab floor, he looked haggard. "Tuck: you're my best friend. Heck, you're practically my brother Of course I'd make it up to you if I could. If we had a way, I'd go into the Ghost Zone and straighten the whole thing out with Desiree personally."

"Be careful what you promise, Fenton." Tucker said in a neutral tone. "Because while I was using your parents' notes to test the Ghost Catcher, I came across the notes they took on the Fenton Portal."

All eyes turned to the Hexagonal pair of blast doors set into the far wall of the lab with the yellow hazard stripes painted on.

Danny gulped. "But... it doesn't work, right? It's not finished."

"Oh, it's finished, alright." Tucker said, then took a deep breath. "Danny, this isn't really about Desiree. Look, I probably should have told you earlier, but I was still mad at you. You parents made an entry that the portal was finished: all that they needed to do next was test it. And... that was the last entry they made."

They all stared at the portal in silence for a while before Sam spoke up. "So if we can get the portal running..."

"I might figure out what happened to my parents." Danny finished.

DP-DP-DP

**AN: **Hey look, I'm back! Finally had some time to do some fic writing and decided to finish off this episode.

I guess now you can see why it needed a fifth part, huh? It's a bit shorter, but as you can see, a LOT happens here. Unfortunately, I think most of it speaks for itself, so I don't have too much to say in this author's note. Ladies and gentlemen: start your speculating!

And now, our Next episode teaser:

**Next Time on The Phantom Reboot:**

**Episode 5 – Sister Act (Part 1)**

Inviso-Bill has turned evil and is stealing things all over town! The people of Amity Park are in need of a good ghost hunter. So who're they gonna call? That's right, the child of Amity's resident ghost hunters: Jazz Fenton!

With his sister press-ganged into hunting him with some of the most powerful Fenton Tech, and 'Dark Phantom' giving him a bad name, what's Danny to do?

Find out in the next exciting episode of... **The Phantom Reboot**!


	18. Sister Act Part 1

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 5: Sister Act (Part 1)**

"Now, Mr. Grey, I called you because yours is the best corporate security firm in the business." said Donald Rayner, president of Axiom Labs. ""And frankly, my predecessor was an idiot when it came to security. He was guarding eighty million dollars worth of equipment and data with a few cameras, night watchmen, and a kennel guard dogs for god's sake! Can you imagine?"

He was a man in his sixties, balding except for a fringe of gray hair at the back and side of his head, and wore a small pair of bifocals that perched on the end of his nose. Striding down one of the many wide, brightly lit corridors with him was Damon Grey, head of Grey Security Systems, who was handling the potentially lucrative Axiom account personally.

"Oh, I understand, Mr. Rayner." said Damon, looking around to get the lay of the area. "I read in Fortune that you just landed a number of government contracts and in order to keep them, you need to meet security standards." He smiled his best 'customer relations' smile and said, "And don't worry, Grey Security Systems can help you meet and exceed those standards. I just need to have a look around first to get an idea of what we need to do so I can give you an estimate."

Rayner nodded profusely. "Of course, of course. Right this way to our main clean room where the chips are finished and stored." He directed them through a door he unlocked with his keys and into a smaller hallway that terminated in a boxy room with a heavy, steel door on one end and rows of medical scrubs hanging from the walls.

"I'm sorry, but in order to go inside, you need to wear these to prevent damaging the electronics."

Damon went over to the wall and selected a set of scrubs. "Yes, I've dealt with your type of business before, Mr. Rayner. For starters, I'm thinking digital surveillance, retina scanning access portals, titanium doors, laser deterrents... when I get done, you'll have the most secure facility in the United States." He stepped into the scrubs and started pulling them up. "And that might just drive more business your way as well."

Across the room from him, Rayner was done pulling his own on. "I do like the sound of that. Of course, we still need to talk data security as well."

"We do." said Damon, pulling up the hood and putting the dust mask over his face. "But for that, I have a whole stable of white-hat hackers. They'll be doing the consulting there while I focus on physical security." He gestured toward the heavy door. "Shall we?"

Rayner nodded and dialed in the combination on the door. He needed Damon's help pulling it open. Once they did, they were confronted with a room packed with fabrication machinery and packing crates for the prototype electronics Axiom provided its customers.

They were also confronted with the sight of a figure in black with a silver belt, gloves and boots, reaching his hand through one of those crates and coming out with a handful of plastic wrapped computer chips, which he then stuffed into a satchel dangling from their side. And he was doing all this while hovering six feet off the ground.

Rayner gasped. "I-is that a _ghost_?"

Damon looked up at the figure in disbelief, one hand on his sidearm. "That's not just any ghost, Mr. Rayner—That's Inviso-Bill!" Drawing out his pistol, he stepped into up in front of Rayner. "Hey! You!"

"'bout time." Inviso-Bill muttered. Stashing another handful of chips into his satchel, he raised his hand. The palm glowed green before unleashing a powerful ecto-blast in Damon's direction.

"Look out!" Damon grabbed Rayner and pulled him back behind a fabricator moments before the ecto-blast exploded brilliantly on the floor where they'd been standing. He looked at the cracked concrete and scowled. "And I thought he was one of the good ones; fighting other ghosts like he does."

Turning to face Inviso-Bill, he saw toxic green eyes glaring back at him from behind the eye slits in his cowl. The ghost smirked under his mask before flying up and through the ceiling, taking the satchel full of prototype chips with him. Damon could only stare up in shock.

"Mr. Grey." Rayner's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The company president was doing his best to straighten his clothes and take calming breaths. "Those were our new X-5 chips for organic computing. We're in a race with MasterSoft to be first to market with organic computing chips and a ghost just stole the first samples."

He gave Damon a serious, almost pleading look. "I will give you a two million dollar advance is you can also promise me that you will find a way to ghost proof our operation... And protect Axiom Labs from Inviso-Bill."

DP-DP-DP

Across town in the Foley house, Danny Fenton snorted in his sleep, grumbled something unintelligible, and turned over before falling into deeper slumber.

DP-DP-DP

**Title Card**

SISTER ACT

Jazz, dressed in powered armor the covered everything but her face, has Danny in Phantom mode cornered in an alley with a charged Fenton Bazooka. Above them, an invisible Danny Phantom is watching and laughing with manic glee. The invisible Phantom is surrounded by stacks of money and jewels and has a tub of popcorn at his side.

Tagline: Horror is RELATIVE

DP-DP-DP

"A night of terror in Amity Park as the Most Haunted Town In America's very won ghostly protector has turned to the side of evil." stated the local station's perky, blonde reporter. Over her shoulder was a graphic featuring a file photo of Danny from one of his first ghost fights.

The scene changed to flashes of empty store shelves and glass cases. "'Inviso-Bill', as he prefers to be called, visited and robbed a number of Amity Park establishments last night, including the Amity Heritage History Museum where a number of priceless artifacts were stolen, DeBuel's Jewelry, which lost over fifty thousand dollars in merchandise, Tween Scene Apparel and Accessories which lost over twenty thousand dollars worth of inventory, and Axiom Labs, which declined to divulge its losses at this time.

"Police found trace amounts of ectoplasm at each crime scene, as well as fibers, surveillance tapes showing Inviso-Bill committing the robberies, and signed confessions by Inviso-Bill. Armed with this evidence, Amity Park Police spokesman Hugh Crawford has announced that the department is looking at a narrow pool of suspects."

Tucker shut off the video feed on his PDA and Danny found both his and Sam's eyes on him as they walked to school.

"What?" he asked. They continued to stare at him. "Oh come on! It's not me! I was asleep in my room last night!" He pointed at Tucker, "You were there!"

Sam shrugged, feeling the truth of his words through the link they shared. "I believe you Danny. But those security cam pictures do look an awful lot lot you in Phantom Mode."

"And there is the matter of the signed confessions." added Tucker.

Danny narrowed his eyes at him, knowing his friend was having him on, but not entirely certain. "Signed by Inviso-_Bill?_ Really? This is clearly an imposter out to ruin my good name!"

"Right." Tucker folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "Some sort of 'Dark Phantom' with a grudge against you because of all the ghosts whose butts you've kicked and evil plots you've foiled over the last year."

"Actually..." Sam started.

But Tucker was already typing furiously on his PDA. "Yeah, I know: that's probably exactly what's going on. Doing a search for likely perps now."

Sam looked over to Danny and put her hand on his arm. "Maybe it'd be best if you tried to lie low for a little bit. No being Phantom in public, no fighting ghosts?"

Balking, Danny shook her hand off him and took a step away. "What? No way. _Someone_ needs to keep this town safe, no matter what they might think of me. Plus, what are they going to do? I can go intangible so the cops can't stop me or shoot me."

"What about hiring other ghost hunters." She pointed out, frowning slightly at the distance he'd put between them and regretting setting him off.

"Pfft. Not a chance. I know all about the other ghost hunters in this state and I am so in the clear on that front: the town doesn't have the money of political clout to bring in the Guys In White, Scaredy Cat and the Groovy Gang are in rehab, and the Extreme Ghostbreakers are both in traction after some dumb stunt they pulled at this mansion in Wisconsin."

He smiled smugly. "There is no one and I mean no one that they can call."

DP-DP-DP

"You called me, Principal Ishiyama?" asked Jazz Fenton as she stepped quietly into the office. Once inside, however, looks of nervousness and confusion mixed on her face. "I-is that the mayor?"

"Indeed I am young lady." beamed the mayor. He was a handsome Hispanic man in his fifties, dressed in an expensive black suit that made the rest of the office seem crummy by comparison. He was sitting in one of the two padded chairs across from the principal's own seat while Principal Ishiyama sat in her regular seat with Mr. Lancer standing behind her, holding a number of folders.

"Please have a seat, Jasmine. And don't worry, you're not in any trouble." Principal Ishiyama was a Japanese woman, a bit younger than the mayor. Having obviously anticipated the mayor's visit, she had on her best off-the-rack pantsuit and wore her black hair down for once.

"Okay..." Jazz said, carefully making her way over to the open chair beside the mayor. Nothing good could come of this, she was certain. Whenever the mayor gave a speech to the town or the Principal gave one to the school, it was to deliver bad news, often not even sugar coating it. Jazz did not expect things to get better by combining the two.

"Well Jasmine, I'm sure you've heard the rumors and the news reports already." The mayor said, digging right in.

"The news?" Jazz wondered aloud. "The only thing that's been on the news today is... wait. Oh god, no. Please don't tell me that this is about that Inviso-Bill guy!" The expectant faces around the room made her heart sink an her ire rise. Hunching up her shoulders, she sat up straighter. It was lecture time.

"Frankly, I am surprised at you. I can understand and sympathize with the fact that the town needs tourism dollars and somehow we've been saddled with 'Most Haunted Town In America' as our main draw, but this is getting ridiculous! These fake ghost attacks endanger people on a weekly basis! And that's not to mention how this town's commitment to insisting that ghosts are real will in time warp the fragile minds of almost every child who grows up here!"

She had to pause to take a breath, but before anyone in the room could step in, she pressed on. "But now you've gone absolutely too far. I certainly hope that the people who were on the news were in on this publicity stunt, but given the town's track record, I can't be completely sure!"

Only slightly fazed by the upbraiding, the mayor shrugged, "Actually, it isn't a publicity stunt at all Miss Fenton. Those people actually lost money. Axiom alone is valuing their losses at up to one hundred million dollars if their stolen technology falls into the wrong hands."

Jazz gave him a level look. "And you're saying a 'ghost' did that." She used air quotes around 'ghost'.

Still genial as ever, the mayor reached into his jacket and pulled out his smartphone. "I understand that you are skeptical about ghost,s Miss Fenton, but let me assure you that _whatever_ committed those robberies is very real _and_ a step above the police department's pay grade." He tapped the screen a few times and handed it to her.

"This is footage from the webcam in DeBuel's. The crime lab insists that it hasn't been edited in any way."

Jazz watched the tiny screen as Inviso-Bill phased in through a back wall and began to reach through the locked cases to steal the jewelry inside, all while clearly floating above the ground and giving off a ghostly glow. A lump formed in her throat. "Are you... _sure_ I'm not looking at special effects here?"

"My guys say no." said the mayor, retrieving his phone from her.

"But... ghosts can't exist." she insisted.

"Whether they do or not," Principal Ishiyama chimed in, "You have to admit that there was _something_ capable of flight and phasing stealing from that store last night, yes?"

There were a great many psychological reasons Jazz fell a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. She absolutely hated being wrong for one thing, and it certainly looked like she was wrong about ghosts not being real. And if she _was_ wrong about that, she had a lot of apologizing to do to her parents and no one to apologize to.

A cold chill went down her spine. And if her parents really had been hunting ghosts, then it was possible that they hadn't really run off following yet another false lead, but had really went charging out after an actual, dangerous, undead monster.

Swallowing against her dry throat, Jazz forced herself to speak. "I... suppose. But what does this have to do with me?"

The three adults looked at each other and some quick, non-verbal delegation was done. The low monkey on the totem pole would have to admit to the town's hubris and do the begging.

Mr Lancer groaned under his breath and shuffled the folders in his hands. "Well Miss Fenton, it seems that despite that town viewing them as, well, dangerous crackpots for most of their tenure in Amity Park, the past year's worth of real, confirmed ghost attacks has vindicated them and their methods.

"The truth is, Amity Park has only just managed to remain a safe place to live thanks to the intervention of this Inviso-Bill character. With Inviso-Bill taking this rather sinister turn, the town believes..."

"We need you to fight the ghosts!" The mayor blurted out.

"What?" Jazz recoiled from the very suggestion. "I can't."

The mayor cut her off, his tone forced into being casual. "The town as a whole may have taken Inviso-Bill for granted, refused to really acknowledge contributions... and profited massively by using his likeness on official Amity Park merchandise without cutting him in. Now he's out for revenge and we need someone to save us from facing the consequences of our actions... at least until I'm re-elected next month." He gave her a thousand watt smile. "So what do ya say?"

Jazz goggled at him. "That I'm shocked at how blatant you're being?"

Mr. Lancer coughed politely, still looking sour at having been interrupted. "You know, Jasmine; we've informed the mayor about what you've told your counselors: how you dream of going to Stanford and enrolling in their Psych program?"

"Aren't those sessions supposed to be confidential?" Jazz asked.

"Not in any legally binding way." Mr. Lancer said, trying to be pleasant. He couldn't hold it under Jazz's unblinking look of disgruntlement. "_Runaway Jury_, Miss Fenton, Why can't you just play ball!?"

"Play ball?" Jazz asked.

"Why yes." said Principal Ishiyama. "I'm sure you realize that Stanford is very expensive, especially for a foster child like yourself. Even with your grades, you're looking at some expenses that you just won't be able to meet without getting very lucky with scholarships and student loans that will virtually rob you of your future."

"However..." the mayor sidled into the conversation, a tiger stalking in for the kill. "I know of one very special scholarship that can take care of everything. The 'Savior of Amity Park' Fellowship—perhaps you've heard of it?"

DP-DP-DP

Danny leaned against the row of lockers as Sam shoved the previous night's books into hers. Tucker was beside him, still trying to figure out what ghost might have been impersonating him.

"So that's the plan." he was saying. "We patrol places he hasn't hit already tonight, catch him, and unmask him. It's going to be a piece of cake."

"I really wish you hadn't said that." said Sam.

"Why?"

She closed her locker and threw her spider backpack over one shoulder. "Hello? Do you have the memory of a goldfish or something? _Nothing_ we do is ever not complicated. Going to a dance got us mind-linked. Going to a concert got me possessed!"

"Sam's got a point, Danny." Tucker said without looking up. "We went to a swap meet and ended up with a genie. Maybe we should play this one carefully; at least until the other show drops."

Danny made a rude noise and started to stalk off from them. "Come on guys. You act like I'm some kind of jinx or something. Nothing it going to make this more—" He stopped short at the corner because he'd almost run into Jazz as she came out of the office.

"Oh, excellent timing, little brother." Jazz said, looking excited. "I need a favor."

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Jazz." Danny deadpanned, then sighed. "What do you need?"

"Oh, it's nothing important. I just need the key to FentonWorks."

"FentonWorks?" Sam and Tucker echoed one another. Sam continued with, "Why do you need to go there?"

Jazz glanced back at the office. "It's a long story that I promise to tell you later, but the short version is that my greatest dream is coming true and all I have to do is protect the city from Inviso-Bill."

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** Me again! For everyone waiting on my other fics, I PROMISE that my next update will be to Menace in Mexico City, so stay tuned.

I know I posted another previously this year, but this is the first TPR written in 2013. Big year for me; I've now got three books on sale on Amazon (check my site from my profile for details), and will have another out next month.

As for TPR, we are now in Episode 5! So much for people who were worried this would peter out, huh? Anyway, Sister Act starts with another cool AU note where ghosts actually make Damon Grey (and by extension Valerie) richer instead of ruining him, but the way they make him richer is still in an anti-ghost capacity.

The mayor here (who I could have sworn had a name) was a very fun character to write. He didn't show up much in the show, but he's so gloriously self-serving and blatant that he can steal any scene he's in. Seeing as how Ishiyama is the same way, I've got a little headcanon going on that they're secretly a couple.

And hurray for finally getting to dig into Jazz a bit. She's a very interesting character in her own right and I've got some options in mind for her.

**Next Time, on The Phantom Reboot:**

**Episode 5 – Sister Act (Part 2)**

Danny, Sam and Tucker now have two problems on their hands: Dark Phantom and Jazzy the Ghost Buster. How can they manage to keep Danny's secret hidden with Jazz rummaging around FentonWorks? By helping her, of course! To a given value of 'help'...


	19. Sister Act Part 2

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 5: Sister Act (Part 2)**

Danny stared at Jazz as if she'd grown a second head. Now that he was thinking of it, he was wishing that she'd just gone ahead and done that instead. It took him a moment to get his head together enough to say anything. When he did, all that came out was: "What?!"

"I know, it's stupid. Inviso-Bill is more than likely just a publicity stunt to get tourist dollars for the town, but the Mayor and Principle Ishiyama just put on a whole show about him being real and needing my help because of mom and dad's inventions—they honestly had me going for a little bit." Not noticing the looks on Danny or his friends' faces, she rolled her eyes. "But then I thought about it and even _our_ mayor wouldn't send a high school Junior out to fight a real criminal who pretends to be a ghost, especially not if they're offering me a scholarship in exchange."

Tucker held up a hand. "They're not sending you out after any other ghosts, are they?"

Jazz shrugged. "Just Phantom for now. Probably setting up some big Halloween weekend for the tourists or something. But anyway, Danny, I know you keep your key to FentonWorks with you, and I'd really like to go over and grab some gear on the way home from school..."

Before Danny could answer, Sam jumped in front of him. "How about we just go with you? Yeah, we've... been playing around with that old ghost hunting tech for a while now and we can tell you what's flashiest. Right guys?" Her two compatriots gave her horrified looks. "They think it's great. Meet us at Nasty Burger after school and we'll all walk over then?"

"Sounds great." said Jazz. "Anyway, I need to get to my AP History class. Thanks!"

As Jazz dashed off, Danny turned to Sam. Anger and panic burned in his eyes and in his mind. "What. Did you. Do?"

"We could have stalled her." said Tucker. "Or even convinced her to give up. Now she's going to be going after Danny with real, working ghost hunting equipment—and believe me, the Ghost Battlin' Belt won't hold up for long against it."

Sam folded her arms and started off for her first class. "You guys aren't looking at this the right way. Sure, you _could_ have stalled or stopped her, but what if you couldn't? Do you really want Jazz poking around at FentonWorks unattended? She could really hurt herself with that stuff—or find something that could hurt or expose Danny."

It became suddenly clear to Tucker what she was onto. "But this way, we get to tag along and control what she has access to. Nice work."

Danny only continued to glower. "You two didn't grow up with Jazz. This is a bad idea. Once she gets her teeth into something, she won't let it go. And let's not forget that Dark Phantom is going to be our there while Jazz is trying to play ghost hunter. This is going to be a major pain."

"Oh yeah." Tucker said, tapping away at his PDA. "But we just need to take things one thing at a time. For example: Jazz is still on the school paper, right?"

"Yeah?" said Danny.

"Cool. Then I just sent out an emergency editor's meeting to the paper's entire staff. Should give us time to get to FentonWorks and hide some stuff before she gets there." Tucker said smugly. "We've got this. No sweat."

DP^DP^DP

Sure enough, Danny got a text from Jazz just after school ended saying she'd be late. Danny in turn told her he and the others would meet her at FentonWorks.

The Specter Cycle, in its inactive mode pulled up to FentonWorks a few minutes later. Tucker was in the sidecar with Sam riding behind Danny.

"You know, it's not a bad ride when you're not breaking the sound barrier." Sam said as they dismounted.

"Tell that to my ribs." Danny said, rubbing his sides. Thought they ached, he said it playfully.

"I was just expecting you to take off like you usually do." she defended.

Tucker gave them a sly look. "That, or she just got excited about having her arms around you." The sly look turned into a smirk as the pair both turned bright red and were forced to look anywhere but one another, the moment made even more awkward as they both remembered the mental link and panicked.

Finally, they vented their awkwardness as ire. "Tucker!" they shouted in stereo.

"You two are too easy." He shook his head before making for the door. "Now if you excuse me, we have a stage to set." Danny had given him a copy of the FentonWorks key not long after he started acting as Danny Phantom, so he was able to let himself in instead of waiting for the fidgeting duo behind him.

By the time Danny and Sam got inside behind him, Tucker was in the living room, sweeping disassembled pieces of Fenton tech and handwritten notes off the coffee table and into a long unused wastebasket. He smirked at them one more time, then directed them to the control panel for the house's defenses and ghost shield. "I've got things in here. We've got to hide all evidence of Danny Phantom or any of us doing and ghost hunting though. Start with buttoning up the command console."

"Why does everything in your house sound like it came out of a military HQ?" Sam asked as she and Danny headed over to the console.

Danny started powering down panels and closing the fail-safe covers on everything. "Do you really have to ask? My folks acted like they were at war with the ghosts. There's even a weapons vault upstairs and don't get me started on the RV."

"You mean the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle?" Tucker's voice came from the living room, causing Danny to cringe. Sam stifled a laugh.

"No, go ahead." Danny rolled his eyes and sighed. "Even knowing the truth about ghosts and stuff doesn't make it less embarrassing." With a few more dials turned, the entire console folded back into the wall until all that remained visible was a large button with a Pac-man style ghost drawn on it.

Tucker appeared in the hallway, now full waste basket in hand. "Everything done in here? Good, let's get down to the lab. We don't know how long we have before the paper staff realizes no one actually called that meeting."

The lab was in worse disarray than normal. Tucker had been running diagnostics on the Ghost Portal to figure out how to turn it on, necessitating many panels both inside and out to be stripped off it. Meanwhile, some of Tucker's other experiments with the Fenton Foam mixture that helped defeat Ember had left a lot of the room streaked and stained with an oil-like sheen that glowed faintly in total darkness.

"So here's my plan," said Sam. "We can put tarps over most of this stuff and Jazz won't even notice. We just need to make sure anything that's dangerous is locked up and some safe gear is in places she can find it. Sound like a good idea?"

"Except for the part where Jazz is doing any ghost hunting at all." Danny said miserably.

"Sorry Danny," said Sam, but that ship has sailed. "Now point me toward some safe ghost gear."

Danny gestured around the room. "It's a room full of experimental anti-ghost stuff, Sam—none of it's 'safe'." Thanks to the mental link, he didn't have to look at her to know that she wasn't enjoying his smarm. He groaned and rubbed his temples. "Fine. Let's set... regular blaster pistols shouldn't pack enough of a punch to hurt me in Phantom Mode. Ecto-sabers are out thought. Uh... oh! The Specter Deflector will work."

"Great." Sam started gathering up the pieces he indicated. "Tucker, start locking stuff up. We've got a lot of work to do."

DP^DP^DP

Half an hour later, most of the lab was shrouded in tarps, locked into storage, or in the worst cases, shoved into the Ghost Portal with the hazard doors closed.

"How about these gloves things?" Sam held up what looked like a giant robot's hands.

Tucker, sitting on one of the mostly cleared off lab tables, checked the digital catalog of Fenton Tech he kept on his PDA. "Fenton Ghost Grabbers. Allows the user to touch and punch the intangible. Huh. Now that sound really useful. I'll need to figure out—"

"She's asking if they're safe to let Jazz use, Tucker." said Danny, who was stowing the last box of odds and ends under a table.

"Oh, they're fine." said Tucker, "Jazz doesn't seem the type to want to punch ghosts."

Sam regarded the gloves thoughtfully before tucking them into a box so that Jazz might easily 'find' them at a cursory glance. "I am so using those next time Box Ghost shows up."

Danny snorted. "No one even considered you might not be the kind not to want to punch ghosts."

She gave him a cheeky grin. "And you'd better remember that you're _pretty_ close to a ghost as Phantom next time to try and get smarmy with me." One more look around the workspace had her eye falling on one last device she didn't recognize: a C-shaped, hand-held contraption with green lights along the top edge, and a hand-grip on the inside curve.

"What's this, Tuck?"

Tucker started paging through the catalog again when they heard the front door close, followed by Jazz calling Danny's name. "Um... I think it's too late. Just stash it somewhere." Taking one last look at it, Sam quickly buried it in a box next to a lab table.

No sooner had she done so than the door at the top of the stairs opened. "Danny? You down here?"

Danny kicked the box he'd been stowing hastily under the table. "Uh, yeah. Right down here. In the totally unused lab." Both Tucker and Sam glared at him for that.

"Whoa. This is actually part of your old house?" That voice wasn't Jazz's, and as Jazz and her guest descended the stairs, they saw exactly who it was.

Tucker almost dropped his PDA. "Valerie?!" He squawked

Danny was quick to cover for him. "Uh, he means, 'Valerie, how nice to see you'. I didn't know you and Jazz were friends."

"She's the gossip columnist for the paper." said Jazz, looking around the lab with recalled disdain for the space. "Well, reporter now, I guess, since she wants to do a story on my being press-ganged into being a ghost hunter."

"Hey guys." Valerie says with a casual wave. Her attention was more attracted to the lab, both what was visible and the tantalizingly vague shapes hidden under tarps and drop-cloths. She turned to Jazz, who was still giving the whole room a disappointed once over with her eyes. "What _is _all this stuff? Is it seriously stuff meant to fight ghosts?"

Jazz sighed dramatically and led Valarie over to the first table. Danny and his friends had strewn it with junk, strategically peppered with usable (but non-threatening to Danny) ghost gear. "Every bit of it." She picked up an ecto-pistol and fumbled with it until it turned on, the barrel glowing green. "Don't let the ghost angle fool you, they were both amazingly brilliant. If they just applied it to something non-fictional, they would have changed the world, I'm sure of it."

Much to Danny, Sam and Tucker's horror, Valerie ignored the bait table and instead pulls a box out from under it, nosing around in it exactly like any good reporter would. "So it's not a joke then?"

"Is what not a joke?" Jazz asked, checking a second pistol.

"That you don't believe in ghosts." said Valerie. "I mean the daughter of ghost hunters in the most haunted town in America doesn't believe in ghosts? I thought it had to be a joke."

A weary, somehow motherly, sigh escaped Jazz and she went over to pat Valerie on the shoulder. "Oh Val. If you're serious about journalism, you're going to need to develop some healthy skepticism. Ghosts are merely the manifestation of man's desire to know that there's some life after this one: the mortality is not the end. They're nothing but metaphor and delusion."

Valerie gave her a heavy-lidded look, "I think a reporter should report what they've seen and I've seen plenty of ghosts in my time." She then turned to Danny and company. "How about you guys? Do you believe in ghosts?" The question, judging by the direction of her gaze, was mostly directed at Tucker.

"Why's she asking you that?" Danny whispered to Tucker.

"Remember? She thinks I'm a ghost lover." Tucker replied in sotto voice.

"Well technically..." Danny started.

"Shut up, you two." Sam hissed. "She's like six feet away, she can see you whispering."

All three looked back at Valerie, who what staring them down with a cocked eyebrow. Behind them, Jazz was face-palming over her brother and foster brother's antics. Suddenly, the temperature dropped.

"Oh no." said Danny as somewhere, locked away in preparation for Jazz's visit, the three ghost alarms started to chime their ringtones.

A black cowled figure with silver boots, belt and gloves phased up from beneath the floor, adding a ghostly glow to the dim light of the basement lab.

"Inviso-Bill!" Jazz and Valerie chorused in shock.

"Whoa." Said an echoing voice from beneath the cowl. "I didn't know there was supposed to be a party. Don't worry, I'm just here to collect my favor..." He stopped and looked around. "Say what? Who moved everything?!"

The echoing shout was the last straw for Jazz, who screamed and started shooting with her two ecto-pistols. Most of the shots went horribly wide, and the rest, Dark Phantom easily dodged. Finally, he threw up a ghost shield for cover. "Oh man. This was supposed to be so easy—do you guys seriously come here straight after school and hang out or something?"

Danny grit his teeth. "That's none of your business, you lousy copycat." He glanced sidelong at Valerie and Jazz, "I'm going to regret this later, but: I am go for—" His hand closed over a dial that wasn't there, because they had hidden _all_ evidence of Danny Phantom ahead of Jazz visiting FentonWorks. "Crud."

"I'm go for crud?" Asked Dark Phantom, still turtling behind his shield. "I...wow, I don't know what to do with that. And it's really frustrating when the other guy is that bad at banter. So let me just say this:" He sidestepped from behind his shield and formed a globe of ecto-energy in his hand that he pitched into Danny's stomach, slamming him back hard against a lab table. The table went over with a clatter and Danny tumbled down with it, landing in a pained heap.

"Danny!" Sam cried. She and Tucker shared a look and she nodded. "Use whatever we can grab?"

Tucker nodded back. "Use whatever we can grab." The two lunged for opposite side of the lab, Tucker whipping the tarp off a workbench that held a Fenton Bazooka, Fenton Foamer, and an array of ecto-blasters of varying power. He grabbed the foamer for the safety of firing it in the lab.

Sam snatched up the Ghost Grabbers from the box she'd put them in earlier, and shoved her hands inside. They locked in place and started glowing green. A cruel grin came to her face as she turned her attention back to Dark Phantom.

Dark Phantom had other things on his mind. Jazz was still firing wildly in his direction. While her aim was lousy, she was unwittingly laying down effective covering fire that was keeping him pinned down. "Oh come on. I don't have time for this." he whined.

Then he looked down. "What am I? Stupid?" He phased down through the ground, dropping his shield as he did.

Jazz stopped firing and stared at the space where Dark Phantom had been. "D-did I get him? Did I win?" She looked to Valerie for confirmation.

"Not quite." said a disembodied voice behind Valerie. Then her eyes flashed to green and she suddenly lashed out at Jazz with a spinning kick that floored her instantly.

Val-Phantom stopped to look down at herself. "Whoa! This girl kicks butt! I think I found a new idol." She shadowboxed in place a moment, using Valerie's kung-fu skills. When something tapped her on the back, she turned to find Sam wearing the Ghost Grabbers. Instead of being intimidated, she smirked. "Ha! I'm overshadowing an innocent person, so you can't touch me. Nya-nya."

Even as she was blowing a raspberry, a wave of Fenton Foam hit her from behind. She rounded on him, agog. "What the heck was that for?"

Tucker looked from the gunk-covered girl to the Foamer in confusion. "That... should have weakened you enough to break the overshadowing."

"Yeah, now so much." With that, she reached back, grabbed Sam's arm, and swung her around into Tucker, sending both of them stumbling through a dangling tarp, which tangled up around them as they fell, uncovering the hanging, manta-shaped bulk of the Fenton Tactical Anti-ghost Glider.

Her eyes sparkled as she looks upon it. "Finally!" She was engulfed in a ghostly glow and flew up to land atop the glider in a kneeling position. "And all she needs is a jump start. Pressing her palms into the foot controls for the glider,s he poured ecto-energy into it, causing the circuits to glow deep red and the whole thing to hum to life.

She was so intent on her task that she never noticed Danny climbing the crane assembly before he had already leapt off it, hitting her with a flying tackle that knocked them both off the glider to the floor, six feet below. Without the Ghost Battlin' Belt, however, Danny was no match for the toughness and agility of an overshadowed human, however, and he took the worst of the fall with Val-Phantom landing on top of him.

Standing, she gathered a ball of ecto-energy in her hand. "You really should have just stayed down."

"Excuse me." Val-Phantom looked to see Jazz standing again, this time holding the C-shaped device. "I really think it's a bad idea for you to try and attack my little brother." Her eyes narrowed as she presented the device forcefully.

Danny squinted up at her. "Jazz? You know how to use that thing?" At his question, Val-Phantom smirked.

But Jazz wasn't put off at all. "Of course I do. Dad never could resist showing off everything he built to me. I think it was his way of bonding." That said, she hit the switch on top of the device. A circular metal cuff expanded from it to encircle her hand. This then began unfolding up her arm, expanding and changing as it went. First her arm was enclosed in a flexible metal sleeve, then her shoulders covered by thick pauldrons, her chest and stomach by a steel curiass. In not time, she was wearing a set of powered armor and glaring at the possessed Valerie from behind a visor with the words Fenton Peeler written on the brow.

"Oh." Said Val-Phantom. "Crud. She looked down at Danny. "I see what you mean..."

Jazz fired a beam of white energy from the Fenton Peeler's palm that engulfed Valerie. A rippling blur raced across her body and Dark Phantom was ejected from her to slam into the far wall of the lab.

He looked up, dazed, then saw that not only was Jazz ready for a fight, but Sam and Tucker had untangled themselves. "Things just got a _little_ too interesting her for my tastes." He admitted. "But you haven't heard the last of Inviso-Bill!"

Laughing high and shrill, his phased out through the back wall of the lab and was gone.

DP^DP^DP

**AN:** It's been too long, guys. Sorry, but I've had a lot on my plate since the new year. Anyway, here's the latest update for The Phantom Reboot!

Dark Phantom is a canon character with slightly more fleshed out personality and pretty much an all-new backstory. Taking all guesses as to DaP's identity! It will be revealed at the end of this episode.

Also, please welcome Valerie back to the story. I purposefully didn't mention her in the preview so it would be a surprise. As in canon, ghost related mishaps follow her around. Poor Val. That said, she isn't necessarily the one who will ultimately end up with the glider now that it's powered. Other options include: Jazz, Sam, Dark Phantom, of Vlad. Danny already has a motorcycle and Tucker has the ASK, so they're not in the running :p .

No promises on how often I'll be able to update, but I'll do my best. In the meantime, you can visit my site via my profile (the link's been fixed) for some good original superhero and fantasy fiction. And by the by, the second edition of my book, Light Days, Darker Nights is out in case you'd like to pick it up on Kindle ;)

Anyway, that's not what you're reading the author's note to read. This is:

**Next Time, On The Phantom Reboot:**

**Episode 5, Sister Act Part 3 – **The attack by Dark Phantom steels Jazz's resolve to catch him and expose him as a fake! Things have just gotten much, much worse for Danny as not only is Jazz armed with the Fenton Peeler, but she'd got a sidekick in tow! Oh yeah, and there's a villain out there ruining his rep and insisting people call him Inviso-Bill! Can he and his friends make things right? Find out in our next thrilling episode!


	20. Sister Act Part 3

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 5: Sister Act (Part 3)**

The Fenton Peeler let out a mnemonic hiss as the segmented exoskeleton began to fold in on itself, leaving Jazz holding the control unit. She stared at the place where Dark Phantom disappeared in shock.

"T-that was..." she stammered, unable to bring herself to say it. The truth had started becoming evident to her when she saw the mayor's video and now she had seen it with her own eyes.

Valarie clenched her fists at her sides, quaking with pent up rage. "A ghost. A filthy undead freak that flew, walked through walls and _took over my body_."

"He looked a little shrimpy to be Da... Inviso-Bill." remarked Tucker, rubbing his thin thoughtfully. "And the voice was off too. He sounded like a kid."

"Who cares what he sounded like?!" Valerie exploded at him. "He broke in here, threw you and your friends around, tried to steal that weird hoverboard thing—and did I mention the _taking over my body_ part already? I've had it with the ghost in this town!"

Eye blazing, she rounded on Jazz, who was looking utterly lost. "You're still going to hunt down these stupid ghosts, right?"

Jazz muttered something that sounded like 'I was wrong?', but snapped out of it when she realized she was being yelled at. "Huh? Well yes, I guess I have to since I promised the mayor and Principal Ishiyama." Her expression changed as she noticed the indignity and fury in Val's eyes. "And if ghost _are_ real, they certainly can't be allowed to run rogue in town, hurting people. Val, I promise nothing like this is ever going to happen to you again."

For her part, Valerie nodded and shifted her stance; feet apart, arms folded in a resolute pose. "That's right and I'm gonna help you."

"You're what?!" Danny and Sam chorused.

Jazz bit her lip. "I appreciate it, Valerie, but this could get dangerous and..."

"Danger nothing." said Valerie. "Ghost seem to like showing up near me and ruining my day. So I'm in danger whether I help you or not. And let me tell you: Valerie Grey is no damsel in distress. Now show me how to work some of this anti-ghost stuff, will you?"

As Jazz sighed in defeat, the trio of Danny, Sam and Tucker edged closer together so their conversation couldn't be heard.

"Well this just went from bad to worse." Danny muttered bitterly.

"Tell me about it." said Tucker, "Not one but two ghost hunters after you, Jazz has a really powerful-looking anti-ghost weapon, and Dark Phantom turns out to be after Fenton Tech."

Sam glanced over to the glider Dark Phantom had tried to steal. It was humming gently and floating in the air without the support of the crane that had been holding it up. "Just what is that thing anyway?"

"Um, let me see..." Tucker whipped out his computer and started to flick through FentonWorks entries. "Here it is... whoa."

"Is that a good 'whoa' or a bad 'whoa'?" Sam asked.

"It's never a good 'whoa' in this situation." said Danny.

Tucker shrugged. "It's a good 'whoa' in that Dark Phantom didn't manage to steal it. That thing is the Fenton Tactical Anti-Ghost Glider, and it's the original testbed for half the tech in your bike, Danny. Check it out: dual ghost-ray emitters, ecto-particle cannon, cloaking device, phase-variance regulator, auto-pilot—and it doesn't need to link to the Ghost Battlin' Belt to use 'em.

"Looks like the only reason your parents didn't put it into service in their ghost hunting is that they couldn't find a power source."

"Dark Phantom charged it with ecto-energy!" Sam said, barely able to keep her voice down. "That means he knew how it worked somehow!"

Danny didn't hear that last part because understanding just struck him. "Guys, I think I get what's going on now. There's only one reason a ghost would want the glider up and working: to use on another ghost. And as far as we know, there's only one ghost all the ghosts that visit Amity want to take out bad enough that they'd power up a piece of ghost-hunting gear..."

Picking up the thoughts directly from his mind, Sam gasped. "The same ghost whose reputation Dark Phantom is trying to ruin—he's out to take you out!"

Pttew! Crash!

The trio turned to find a sheepish-looking Valerie, covered in plaster and holding a smoking ecto-pistol; barrel pointed toward a smoking hole in the ceiling.

"My bad." She said and gingerly put the weapon back on a table.

"And Dark Phantom's not the only one." added Tucker.

Danny groaned and pressed his head between his hand. "Great. This is going to be a bad couple of days..."

DP-DP-DP

The next night found Dark Phantom phasing up through the floor of a jewelry store, a canvas sack with a green dollar sign on it in hand. Wasting no time, he started phasing his hand through display cases; grabbing whatever was inside and cramming it into the sack.

No long after, the one and only Danny Phantom emerged and glared balefully at his doppelganger's back. "A sack with a dollar sign on it? Being carried by my evil twin? In a jewelry store? I've wondered into the land of cliches."

He charged up a pair of ghost rays in his hands as Dark Phantom turned in air to face him.

Up close, Danny wondered how anyone confused Dark Phantom for him. The guy was a full head shorter and the portion of his face behind the cowl betrayed radically differently shaped eyes. Oh yeah, and the toxic green ghosts eyes were a tip-off too.

Then again, the people making the mistake were a community that thought 'Inviso-Bill to be the pinnacle of catchy vigilante names, so it was possible they really were that dense.

"You say cliché, I say 'time tested trope'." Dark Phantom said, unslinging the bag from his shoulder. "Besides, this? Not my idea. I was going to keep at least a couple of pairs of earrings."

The ghost rays in Danny's hands faltered. "Say what now?"

Dark Phantom replied by firing a ghost ray of his own; not at Danny, but right through the front window, setting off the alarms. Before Danny could fathom what was happening, Dark Phantom whipped the bag around like an Olympic hammer thrower and let fly, sending the whole thing slamming into Danny's midsection.

The impact sent Danny backward through a display case before he had a chance of going intangible.

He recovered quickly, rising from the wreckage of the case and split hist bag. Somewhere along the way, he'd become entangled in a number of valuable necklaces with multiple rings on each finger, and inexplicably, a crown on his head.

"Are there people who actually wear crowns still around? In Amity Park?" he groused, plucking the thing off his head. Dark Phantom seemed to have escaped in the time it took him to get back up, so there was nothing else to vent his annoyance on.

"Freeze!"

Danny groaned. "Seriously?" He looked over to find a pair of cops standing in the door frame; a white guy in this late twenties or early thirties with a mane of wild, brown hair and slightly crazy eyes and an older black man with a trimmed mustache and a long suffering expression. Both had guns trained on him.

"This isn't what it looks like." Danny started to explain before realizing just how that sounded. "Actually, there's no way you guys are going to believe that so..." He phased and dropped down through the floor, leaving the jewelry behind.

The crazy eyed cop laughed. "Well fancy that, Murtaugh: out first genuine ghost call."

The older cop holstered his gun and rubbed his temples with one hand. "I'm gettin' too old for this sh—"

DP-DP-DP

Two nights later, ark Phantom emerged from the roof of the mayor's house, shaking with laughter so much that he almost didn't see Danny before he ran into the young hero.

"You!" They chorused, flying back a few paces.

"What were you doing at the mayor's house?" Danny demanded.

Even with the cowl hiding his mouth, it was easy to tell when Dark Phantom was smirking. "Oh... nothing..." he said coyly.

"What did you steal?" Danny said through clenched teeth.

There was a shout from below, slightly high pitched, and Dark Phantom giggled—actually giggled. "I can say with complete honesty that Is didn't steal anything." With that, he went invisible. "Unless you count dignity."

"There he is!" Came a squeaky cry.

Danny looked down to see the mayor flanked by his security detail. The mayor was pointing right at Danny. He was also in his pajamas. And the waistband of his boxers had been yanked up from the back almost to his shoulder blades. "Inviso-Bill! Get him! No one wedgies the mayor and gets away with it!"

"We're on it, Mister Mayor!"

It only took a moment for Danny to recognize the voice and Jazz's and a moment more before she and Val were pouring anti-ghost fire into the sky as she streaked away at top speed.

DP-DP-DP

The night after that, Dark Phantom and Danny crashed through the boarded up windows of a warehouse and rolled into an abandoned street, punching and kicking for all they were worth.

One last furious exchange of blows drove them apart where they squared off, charged ghost rays in both hands.

"We've got your back Danny!" Tucker shouted, leaping out with a ghost net launcher in hand. He deftly aimed and fired the launcher.

"Tucker, wait!" Sam burst from the same cover he'd been using just a little too late.

Dark Phantom cackled, pointing at Danny, who was ensnared in the net before flying straight up and disappearing into the night sky.

Danny glared at Tucker. "Really? You couldn't tell us apart?"

Tucker shrugged and looked sheepish. "Well you are dressed sorta similar."

DP-DP-DP

"So tired." Danny moaned, trudging along behind Sam and Tucker as the trio exited the Nasty Burger with to-go orders. Jazz and Valerie had a meeting with the mayor, so that evening would be the first time in a week they had FentonWorks to themselves.

"Eight straight nights of getting run ragged by Dark Phantom, the police _and_ Jazz." Tucker said. "I feel for you dude. But at least you've kept Dark Phantom from stealing anything else or hurting anyone. Heh, besides the mayor that is."

"That's the thing." Danny said, hardly able to keep one foot in front of the other, "I don't think he actually _wants_ to steal anything else. Now it's all about ruining my rep and wearing me down fighting him and trying to get out of the messes he leaves me in every night."

Sam hung back until he was walking even with her and put her hand lightly on Danny's shoulder. "I think you're right Danny. And I think that means we need a change in strategy."

"Change." Danny said, borderline delirious, "Change is good."

"I hope you've got a plan." Tucker said.

Sam thought a moment. "Not yet, but let's think about this a second: What does Dark Phantom want?"

"The whole rep-ruining deal?" Tucker asked, "Oh, and that glider from the lab. Can we work with that?"

"Hmm..." Sam broke off her train of thought to catch Danny around the shoulders before he passed out completely. After some scuffling, she ended up with his arm hoisted over her shoulder as he leaned heavily into her, slipping in and out of consciousness.

Tucker looked back and smirked.

"Shut. Up." She said preemptively and jostled Danny hard to get him partway to waking again so they could finish the walk to FentonWorks. "Now. As I was saying: Danny's really in no condition to go after Dark Phantom again tonight, especially if it's let another bait and switch."

That made Tucker frown. "Are you saying we just let him get away with it?"

"Just for tonight." said Sam. "I mean, just look at Danny: how much good do you think he'll be doing the people of Amity Park if we let him go out tonight anyway?"

By way of illustrating, she unshipped Danny's arm from around her and pushed him lightly forward, holding him under the arms.

"Mmmph." Danny said, peering with bleary eyes. The effort (if it could be called that) of being pushed finally conked him out and her started to tip forward.

"Good point." Tucker said, rushing to help Sam support their suddenly deadweight friend.

The rest of the trip was conducted in relative silence as the pair carried Danny to FentonWorks; Tucker holding his legs while Sam supported him under the shoulders. The Nasty Burger bags rested on the slumbering teen's stomach until he was finally deposited on the couch in the Fenton family living room.

Sam and Tucker then took places on the floor in front of the coffee table and started unpacking their dinner.

"Anyway." Sam said finally, after catching her breath. "Like I was saying, it's just for tonight. Tomorrow, in case you forgot, is the start of the Amity Park Halloween Festival."

The Most Haunted Town In America, with The Most Blatantly Opportunistic Local Government In The State, of course made a big deal of Halloween. And so, even though Halloween fell on the following Wednesday, Amity kicked off its own festivities that Saturday with a big ceremony. In past years, it had been held at City Hall, but the Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the mayor had moved it, starting the previous year, to the Amity Park Mall.

A huge crowd, lots of witnesses, and even more media coverage. Not to mention a location chock full of things to steal.

Tucker saw exactly where Sam was going with that. "That's the time I'd strike if I wanted to deal the finishing blow to Inviso-Bill's reputation." He said.

"Danny. Phantom." Danny growled in his sleep. He then trialed off, muttering something about Paulina.

Sam screwed her eyes closed and started mumbling a mantra from the book they'd gotten to help deal with the mental link.

"Um... Sam." Tucker asked, waving his hand before her eyes.

After a few seconds, she snapped out of it. "Sorry. He started dreaming about Paulina and I wanted to make sure I wasn't in his head for any teenaged boy stuff."

"Right... moving on." Tucker said, anxious _not_ to talk about his foster brother's naughty dreams. "I was agreeing with you that Dark Phantom is going to do his worst at the ceremony tomorrow."

Sam picked at her salad, thinking. "Dark Phantom wants to mess with Danny. And he wants the glider..."

Following her lead, Tucker picked up his huge burger and took a bite. "And he's messing with Danny by framing him and also stringing him out with meaningless fights and running from the cops and/or our very own dynamic duo..."

The plastic spork that came with Sam's salad clattered onto the table as she leapt to her feet, excited. "Tucker, that's it! Do you think you can interface with the glider with your computer."

Not following this time, Tucker blinked in confusion. "Now that it's charged? Yeah, piece of cake. But I don't get how that helps anything."

A sly smile spread across Sam's face. "Oh, it will. We're going to give Dark Phantom everything he wants, then we're going to hang him with it and clear Danny's good name in the process."

She pointed in the direction of the lab. "Come on, Tuck; let's get devious."

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** It's been a while since I posted. Sorry 'bout that. March was not conducive to fanficing. What with a blizzard, power outage, car trouble, oh and publishing my fourth book, Descendants vs. Project Tome. (You can actually enter to win a free copy on my site if you're quick about it).

But hey, lookit that, I'm back!

As to the story, I anticipate that the main problem most people will have with this one is not enough Jazz. I'm not sure how that happened, but there will be much more Jazz in the next chapter.

Also, as is my custom, there's some fun shout outs here if you care to pick them out. In my original concept of this, Danny was going to also have run-ins with Robocop, Axel Foley and Jim Brass from CSI, but three vignettes are enough, I think.

Finally, there's a few more clues as t who Dark Phantom is here.

And now for the part of the AN you care about:

**Next Time, On The Phantom Reboot:**

**Episode 5, Sister Act Part 4 – **Dark Phantom makes his move, but Team Phantom has some moves of their own. But will two overzealous ghost hunters ruin everything? All that, plus the TPR version of the scene everyone's been waiting for all coming at you on the next... The Phantom Reboot!


	21. Sister Act Part 4

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 5: Sister Act (Part 4)**

The night of Amity Park's Halloween Kick-Off (as the Chamber of Commerce was calling it) finally arrived. The mall was decked out in black and orange everywhere and a stage had been erected in the food court for the mayor.

Admission was free and there promised to be several events going on at the mall, ranging from costume contests to scavenger hunts, to what everyone felt was going to be an inevitable ghost fight. The major had spent the last few days giving speeches and even going on local public access television to call Inviso-Bill out an suggest that the best time to show himself would be at the mall.

He'd also spent that same time calling every news outlet in the state, trying to convince them to come and cover the attack he was provoking. As a result every news station without actual news to report on was present as well as every resident of Amity Park who desire to be on TV overrode their self preservation.

"Oh, I hope Inviso-Bill flies close to us." Paulina was saying, "So I can get on camera _and_ so I can give him my phone number." She was there with the whole popular kid group sans Valerie, hanging out by the fountain.

None of them paid attention to the trio sneaking out the fire exit just a few yards from them.

For the first time since the whole Dark Phantom thing started, Danny's mood improved. "Did you hear that? All I have to do is fly close to her and—"

"No!" Sam and Tucker shot him down before he could finish.

"Head in the game, Danny." Sam chided. "Besides, it wouldn't be you getting her number, or even Danny Phantom. It would be Inviso-Bill. Could you really live with that?"

Danny looked back through the closing door, trying to get one last glimpse t the Latin beauty. "She can call me the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man if she wants to if it gets me her number."

"Can we just focus on foiling your evil counterpart?" Sam huffed, then quirked an eyebrow. "How weird is it, even given all the ghost stuff, that the phrase 'foil your evil counterpart' is relevant to your life?"

"How are you even able to call anything weird anymore?" Tucker asked. "You've been hunted by one ghost, possessed by another, and psychically linked to one of your friends."

"I reserve the right to still totally freak out of there's an Evil Sam out there somewhere." She folded her arms, then looked skyward as if silently begging Fate not to take that as a challenge.

They stopped at a row of dumpsters behind the mall where they'd stashed the glider earlier. Danny and Tucker had been expected to come to the ceremony to support Jazz, so they couldn't have arrived with it. Tucker whipped the tarp off the piece of machinery, which even at rest hovered a foot off the ground.

Danny gave the thing a dubious look. "I really wish we had more time to practice this."

"Relax, Danny." said Tucker, "I've got this. Trust me."

"Now I wish you hadn't said trust me." Danny groaned. Nevertheless, he turned the dial on the Ghost Battlin' Belt and became Danny Phantom. With one more reserved sigh, he flew up to land astride the glider.

Sam reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Danny. Dark Phantom won't know what hit him. And if things do go wrong, me and Tuck are here to back you up." She opened the long, black jacket she was wearing to show that she had not only the ectosaber on her, but an ecto-pistol, a Fenton Thermos, and a set of green-glowing brass knuckles Danny didn't remember being in the lab or armory. The duffel bag slung over her shoulder also held a Fenton Bazooka.

"Should we be concerned about how much you enjoy arming yourself to the teeth?" Danny asked. Sam just gave him a predatory grin. He and Tucker shared a look and shivered. "Let's just do this thing." said Danny.

DP-DP-DP

Back in the mall, the Mayor had already launched into his speech. "...as I always say, there is no greater challenge than being mayor of Amity Park. Not only do I have to serve your interests to the best of my ability, but also protect you from the scourge of ghosts."

"That's not you! That's Inviso-Bill!" cried Paulina from the crowd.

The Mayor glared and cleared his throat. "I think the last few days of Inviso-Bill's reign of terror are enough to prove that he is not on our side like I'm on your side. But do you know who are? My special Mayoral Taskforce on Ghost Eradication." He gestured to his right hand, where Jazz and Val were seated. "Jasmine Fenton and Valerie Grey are the real anti-ghost heroes, not Inviso-Bill!"

"Oh really?" A voice boomed out over the crowd, hollow and otherworldly.

Something phased up from out of the ground, through scores of terrified citizens. It looked like a gigantic, metal manta ray with glowing lines all over it. And standing on top of it was Amity's protector and latest villain: Inviso-Bill.

He smirked as his hands ignited with ecto-energy. "If I can't be the hero anymore, the least I can do is give the people a good show!" He brought up his hands and unleashed ghost rays that blasted the podium in front of the mayor and tore up the stage.

If they hadn't been afraid when he appeared, the people of Amity Park were good and frightened now. Scream, panic and a stampede for the exits ensued.

Inviso-Bill looks at them with a cruel grin. "What? Are you not entertained?"

DP-DP-DP

"Hamming it up much?" Tucker snickered at Danny through the Fenton Phones.

"When am I ever going to get to do this again?" Danny replied.

A change in the panic got his attention and he saw that the crowd was now streaming _away_ from the exits. Soon enough, it was clear why: Dark Phantom had arrived and even with the cowl obscuring his features, it was clear from the blazing, acid green eyes that he was not happy.

"You know what?" Dark Phantom shouted, streaking toward Danny. "I'm really _not_ entertained." Before Danny could mount a defense, Dark Phantom tackled him off the glider. They hit the floor with a force that shattered tiles around them.

Dark Phantom recovered first and got to his knees in time to slam an ecto-powered fist into Danny's gut. "What gives?" He demanded. "It's my job to ruin your rep, got it? And that glider is supposed to be mine!"

Danny's retort came in the form of twin ghost rays that blasted his evil twin back through several rows of folding chairs. "What? Am I making you a little upset? Is it annoying to you that someone's stealing your bit? Well welcome to my world, you undead brat."

That got a growl from Dark Phantom and he launched himself into the air. "Nobody calls me a brat." He started throwing bolts of ecto-energy in rapid succession, forcing Danny to take to the air as well to dodge. Soon enough, however, the glider flew in, apparently on auto-pilot. Danny flew to get astride it again.

"Oh no your don't!" said Dark Phantom. He shot forward to intercept, laying Danny out with another flying tackle. This time, he pulled up just in time to allow Danny to crash down into the fountain alone.

Those hellish eyes widened with glee as Dark Phantom suddenly had an idea. "Here's something I don't think you can do..." He ignited his hands with ecto-energy, only this time it glowed blue. The ghost ray he fired didn't explode, but instead caused the water in the fountain to freeze solid, trapping Danny in it.

Cackling with triumph, Dark Phantom landed on the glider. "And like I said: this? This is mine."

Danny charged a ghost ray and blasted out of the ice. "You would think that. But let me tell you something: that thing is really hard to drive."

Dark Phantom blew a raspberry. "For you maybe. I'll totally get it figured out."

"Not the point." Danny said, on the verge of laughing. "See, I couldn't drive it—so we disabled the manual controls and it's all being flown by remote."

"Oh, I see it's..." Dark Phantom trailed off. "Wait. What?"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the glider suddenly lifted off vertically and slammed him into the ceiling. Before he could even fall over, the glider went into a corkscrew spin and began lurching drunkenly around the food court.

It was all Dark Phantom could do to hold on. Eventually, not even that was possible. The glider suddenly surged forward, only to be slammed into reverse, sending him flying ass over teakettle into a wall. By the time he got his bearings again Danny was back on top of the glider.

"Oh look, here's a manual control that was still turned on." Danny said, dropping into a three-point stance with his hand flay on a confluence of ecto-circuits. He poured energy into it. The front of the glider split open to reveal a huge ecto-cannon, which began gathering a build-up of ecto-energy.

Dark Phantom tried to raise an ecto-shield, but it was too late and the glider's primary weapon was too powerful. The shield shattered and Dark Phantom was blasted through the wall. He skipped on the concrete twice before coming to rest near the dumpsters.

His cowl had torn on one side near the back of his head, allowing strands of long, white hair to spill out. Standing shakily, he looked back at the hole in the wall. "Oh, you might have won this time, but—"

"But not a lot." Dark Phantom turned around just in time to see Sam, kneeling on the ground with the Fenton Bazooka couched on her shoulder. "Buh-bye now." She said, an fired.

Back in the mall, looking out, Danny couldn't help at grin as the latest nemesis was sucked into the Ghost Zone.

Putting his hands on his hips in a heroic pose, he turned back toward the citizens of Amity Park. "And that, good people is the end of my evil twin and—"

"Freeze Inviso-Bill!"

"Of course." Danny face-palmed. He'd forgotten about Jazz and Val, and now they were pointing ecto-pistols at him. "Are you two kidding me with this? Did you not just see two of me? Total 'evil double' situation. Oh and it's Danny Phantom. Da-nee Phan-tom. No more Inviso-Bill got it?"

Jazz cocked her head to the side. "Actually, from my parents' notes, some powerful ghosts are capable of duplicating themselves. This could all be a ruse to get the town to trust you again."

"And me?" said Val. "I don't really care. You're a ghost and therefore evil by default anyway."

"Wow, didn't take long for that to come back and bite me." Danny muttered bitterly. "Um... look, if you don't believe me, I've only got one thing to say."

"Yeah?" Val asked, a dangerous edge in her voice.

"Distraction!" Danny shouted and leapt backward off the glider. Said glider then went intangible and flew through the two girls, temporarily filling their vision.

Danny didn't waste time. Between charging up the glider to shoot Dark Phantom and blasting his way free to the ice earlier, he was low on power. Going intangible was now out of the question, and he might manage a few seconds of invisibility but no more. Even his top speed was suffering, so he flew out through the hole in the wall, hoping to lose his sister and classmate.

Behind him, he heard angry shouting and knew he wouldn't have much time to work with.

He was so concerned with watching out behind him, that he didn't notice a hand come out from behind the dumpster until it already had a grip on his arm. A ball of ecto-energy was already charging in his hand when he realized that his assailant was Sam.

"Quick, de-Phantom." She ordered. He was too addled to act swiftly enough for her, so she reached down and turned the dial on the Ghost Battlin' Belt herself, changing him back to ordinary, every day Danny Fenton. Unfortunately, he'd been hovering six inches off the ground.

Dropping, he over-corrected in trying to get his balance and fell into Sam, driving her back against the wall and causing their foreheads to knock together. They lost valuable second blinking the stars out of their eyes, and in that time, they heard running footsteps coming their way.

Sam panicked. Her plan was for them to hide between the dumpsters, but now they didn't have time to untangle their limbs from their collision and slip away before Jazz and Valerie reached them.

"You can't get away from us, Phantom!" Valerie shouted and two green bolts of ecto-energy from her pistol hissed past their hiding place.

Time was up and one way or another, they were going to be spotted and have to explain why they were there... and why they were so close. It only just occurred to her just how close they were, having not drawn back far from Danny's stumble and accidental headbutt.

Of course, there was one thing they could do that would both explain why they were hiding _and_ keep the two ghost hunters from asking many questions.

Sam looked into Danny's eyes and gently touched his mind with their link. He was in no condition to plan. More or less, he was just running on pure adrenaline at the moment and still dazed from their heads clonking together.

_Sorry_. She sent to him, because there was no way this was going to be not awkward later. But it did preserve his identity. _SorrySorrySorrySorry._

The one word repeating over and over again in her head and his, she reached up, grabbed the back of his head, and pulled his face down to hers, mashing their lips together.

At the very least, the action cut through his foggy mind and oriented everything toward a single thought. That said thought was essentially 'Guh?' was not exactly what she'd wanted a guy to be thinking when she kissed him, emergency or no.

Jazz and Valerie's running steps were almost right on top of them now.

_Do. Not. Move._ Sam commanded, but Danny didn't seem inclined to do so anyway. They both stood thee, eyes screwed closed, waiting to see if their ruse would work. Somewhere along the way they'd stopped simply pressing lips and were starting to move, if hesitantly.

"Oh come on!" Valerie groaned, skidding to a stop when she saw them. "Get a room you two."

Jazz wasn't far behind. "Gah! I didn't need to see my baby brother making out!"

That was it. Ruse accepted, time to end this. Sam pulled Danny's head away from her and put on her most evil glare as she turned on the pair watching them. "Do you mind?!"

"Were you two so into it that you didn't even notice Inviso-Bill, or Phantom or whoever he is go by?" Val demanded.

Sam huffed. "No. Go away. Can't you see we're busy?"

The pair of ghost hunters peeked around the supposedly amorous pair and upon not seeing any sign of Phantom, muttered their 'sorry's and sheepishly turned to head back to the mall. But not before Jazz shouted, "But you better not be getting too 'busy'!"

Fighting back the deepest blush of her life, Sam let out a relieved breath and looked back to Danny. She found him looking at her with an inscrutable look on his face that made her hesitant to check out what he was thinking.

"You know that was for Jazz and Val," she bit her lip, "Right?"

In a moment of terrible communication between brain and mouth, Danny blurted, "You got anything else for them?" Just before his bring figured out what was going on and made him add, "I mean yeah. Um.. to throw them off my trail, right?"

"Yeah." Sam laughed, suddenly nervous. "Total fake-out. A fake-out make-out."

Danny stepped back away from her, suddenly intensely aware of how close they were standing. "Right. Good name for it." He rubbed the back of his head as an awkward silence set in. "So, let's got find Tucker and get out of here.

He plucked at his sodden shirt. "I really want to get home and change before I catch cold or something."

"Good idea." Sam said quickly. "Let's go find Tucker!" _And never speak of this again_, she added to herself.

DP-DP-DP

Deep in the basement of Vlad Masters' home; past the cages and containment cells filled with monstrous ghostly animals and other failed experiments stood an exact replica of the non-functional Ghost Portal at FentonWorks. It was an 'exact' replica in all ways but one: the 'non-functional' part.

A klaxon sounded briefly before the blast doors hissed apart, revealing the swirling green chaos that existed on the event horizon between the living world and the dimension known as the Ghost Zone. Shadows flitted in the roiling energies before finally resolving into four distinct shapes; one ahead of two more that supported the fourth.

An enormous vulture flew through the portal, followed closely by two of its kin which bore the figure of Dark Phantom between them by the shoulders. They dropped the humanoid ghost unceremoniously on the floor before flying to land on a series of perches built just for them.

Vlad watched the whole thing with a smirk on his face and ignored Dark Phantom's quailing over their treatment. "Good work boys. Still no words on Ember of the Skulker?"

"Feh." One of the vultures said, ruffling his feathers. "It was difficult enough to find this one, what with this new 'lawman' ghost expanding his demesne. Everywhere you go now, he has his lost souls telling you that you're trespassing. You are lucky that his didn't put this one in his prison." The bird spoke with a Yiddish accent, just one of the many things Vlad didn't understand about the three brothers. They weren't' experiments of his, so he assumed that they were just example of the many exotic manifestations that existed in the Ghost Zone that weren't actual ghosts beyond the fact that they were composed of ectoplasm.

He knitted his brow at what the vulture said. The encroaching ghost, Walker was starting to become a problem. There would soon come a time when he would have to choose between alliance or conquest when it came to the undead lawman. But today, he had other agendas.

With a nod to the vultures, he stepped toward Dark Phantom. "So, how did it go?"

Dark Phantom looked at the ground. "You watched, didn't you?" It was a question, hopeful that Vlad had no, in fact, seen what went down.

"It _was_ a televised event." Said Vlad. "And you let him get to you when it was your job to get to him."

Dark Phantom growled and ripped the cowl the rest of the way off. Beneath it was the cherubic face of a girl no older than thirteen with toxic green eyes and white hair. "He called me a _brat_! And he took the glider that was supposed to be mine!"

Vlad rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're never going to make it in this world without at least a sliver of patience, Danielle. People will push your buttons. The secret is to remain cool and calm while you discover and push theirs."

"Or just overshadow them and loot everything they have." Dark Phantom, Danielle, muttered.

"I'll ignore that because you're frustrated." said Vlad. "Also because it's true. But in any event, tell me: did you at least accomplish something useful?"

Danielle got to her feet and cracked her back. Once she did, two black rings of energy appeared at her waist and started traveling in opposite directions along her body. Where they passed, her tattered Phantom disguise disappeared, replaced by jeans and a pink hoodie. Her skin grew more pale and her eyes went form unnatural green to blue. Her hair, now black, was somehow pulled back into a ponytail by the process.

"Well his reputation isn't _ruined_, but people are sure going to doubt him especially after they realize that he still shot at the mayor just to draw me out."

Vlad shrugged and headed back to his computer console, motioning for her to follow. "That only follows logically. He is a ghost after all."

"Actually..." Danielle said. "I'm not so sure he _is_ a ghost. I mean he doesn't seem to have much of an obsession, and even though he's strong, he's still got just basic powers; nothing unique at all. Oh, plus I'm pretty sure I got him winded back there. If he's like us, he's not as used to his powers as we are."

That got Vlad smiling deviously. "Are you suggesting, Danielle, that This Inviso-Bill, is actually a third halfa?"

She nodded.

Vlad steepled his fingers. "Oh my. Imagine: a half that isn't the result of Jack's bumbling or my own genius. He would be a treasure trove of data." His eyes lit red even though he was in human form. "If you're correct, we simply _must_ learn more about him. He might be able to contribute a great deal to my master plan."

DP-DP-DP

Episode 5 – Boom! Done. Hope it was worth the wait.

Speaking of the wait, sorry about that, folks. This month has been dedicated to getting my third Rune Breaker book written. It should be out at the end of this month! Woo!

Oh man, a lot happened in this one, didn't it?

After denying everyone a TPR version of Fanning the Flames, the least I could do was give you the kiss from Shades of Grey. This will actually have more legs than the original because both Val and Jazz saw it and Val doesn't have a secret ID here, so she can gossip all she wants about it. Why did I do that? In the words of Naga the Serpent: THE DRAMAAA!

Then we have the reveal of Dark Phantom's identity. Some people got it, which is pretty cool. The best mysteries are those you might actually stand a chance at figuring out. All I'll say on the subject of TPR!Dani is that she is _not_ a clone. Her origins will come soon enough, but she's like this because TPR!Vlad isn't obsessed with making Danny his son and so would never have created Dani in the first place. Look for an Episode entitled 'The Truth About Ghost Girls' in the future.

Also we expand on Walker. My feelings about Walker is that he is actually one of the scariest non-movie baddies in the Phantom-verse. Not only does he have an HQ and tons of minions, but how he deals with people is horrifying. Think about it: at best, he'll lock you up for centuries. At worst? He will capture and forcibly possess every single person you know in order to make your life a literal hell on Earth. Walker is a bad, bad man.

And now what you've been waiting for:

**Next Episode:**

**Episode 6 'The Substitute Phantoms' Chapter 1**

When Danny comes down with a cold, it falls to Sam and Tucker to protect Amity in his absence. Piece of cake, right? If you think that, you've been reading the wrong story. Between Halloween false alarms, and Sam's growing anxiety over the kiss and the school rumor mill, they might not even notice some very odd behavior from... Kwan and Jazz? What the heck is going on here?

All that and a killer motorcycle battle on the next: The Phantom Reboot!


	22. The Substitute Phantoms Part 1

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Danny Phantom and related characters are property of Nickelodeon and many concepts used here are the creation of Butch Hartman.

**The Phantom Reboot**

**Episode 6 : The Substitute Phantoms (Part 1)**

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!"

"Have a god day as school son!"

"And don't forget to pick up Danny's schoolwork for him."

Tucker shook his head sadly as he closed the door behind him. It was a crying shame that missing a day of school didn't mean you got to miss a day's worth of work. Taking out his PDA, he brought up some diagnostics he'd taken of the Ghost Portal the day before. Everything looked to be in order, he just needed to find time to test it...

"So Danny's sick?"

"Gah!" it seemed to Tucker as if Sam had just materialized on the sidewalk beside him. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?" She asked, adjusting the purple spider backpack and giving him an odd look.

"Sneak up on people. You could've given me a heart attack!"

Sam looked down at her huge, chunky boots. "Yeah, I'm really doing a lot of sneaking in these." She smirked, "Maybe someone was off in PDA-land and not paying attention to anything around him."

"Whatever." Tucker said, trying not to sound defensive. "How'd you know Danny was..." he trailed off as it dawned on him that _of course_ she knew Danny was sick. "Right. Mind link thingie."

The goth nodded and they started the walk toward Casper High. "So what's wrong with him? Is it serious?"

"Nah," Tucker shrugged, "Just a cold. He thinks it's from when Dark Phantom froze him this weekend. I tried to explain that you can't catch cold just by being cold, but you know Danny. Weird thing is, no one else in the house has been sick—wonder where he actually got it."

Sam coughed nervously. Her grandma had a cold the week before and her parents had been sniffling all weekend. Apparently, she was just a carrier of that particular strain. "Um, I certainly have no idea. Why would you even ask me something like that? It's not like I had anything to do with it."

Now it was Tucker's turn to look at her strangely. "What are you talking about?"

Common sense and self control both slipped gears somewhere in Sam's brain. "It was just a fake-out make-out!" She exploded. It didn't take her long to realize what she'd done and turn bright red.

Tucker stopped walking. "Did you just say 'make-out', as in kiss? You kissed Danny?!"

Face-palming with a vengeance, Sam groaned. "This day is going to be just terrible, isn't it?"

DP-DP-DP

**Title Card**

THE SUBSTITUTE PHANTOMS

Tucker, wearing a set of high-tech looking green and black battle armor and a grayscale version of Sam with long, white hair, a long, forked tongue, glowing red eyes and dressed in some sort of shroud are giving evil looks as they chase a screaming Jazz and Kwan. The shadows of the latter two looks like a couple riding on a motorcycle.

Tagline: [Something has been scribbled out and replaced with...] They are GO for Ghosts!

DP-DP-DP

Somewhere in the infinite realms of the Ghost Zone, someone had just strayed into the wrong end of infinity. A horde of lost souls, all attired in helmets and vest straight out of a seventies police show swarmed like hornets from a kicked over nest. They shouted standard cop lines like 'freeze!' and 'I'm only one day from retirement!' as they fired bolts of adhesive ectoplasm from their billie clubs.

Ahead of them, dodging the blasts with a combination of skill and luck born of desperation, was a motorcycle with two riders.

"This is all your fault Johnny!" the female of the pair clutched the other rider's leather jacket with both hands as they zig-zagged between blasts. Her wild, green hair (straight out of the eighties), whipped the wind, and she kept her eyes screwed firmly shut. "You and your dumb ideas!"

The leather-clad rider grit his teeth and used the hand not mashing the throttle to clear some of his greasy blonde hair out of his eyes. "Gimmie a break, will ya Kitty? The guy said there was someone around here willin' to cross people over to the human...er... zone... and pump up their powers. I figured it was a good deal."

A blast of ecto-adhesive buzzed dangerously close to Kitty's ear. "Does this look like a good deal to you? Just bein' here's got some seriously powerful guy with like, an army of lost souls gunnin' for us! Next time you think you see a 'good deal' past it up!"

Another blast hit her in the back, expanding to wrap her arms and bind them to her sides. It was only by luck that she didn't fall off. "And get us outta here!"

"Yeah, not like I wasn't tryin' to do that." said Johnny. Up ahead a cluster of purple doors loomed. Every ghost knew the doors to be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes the opened up somewhere nice, others, they opened into other ghosts' small demesnes and that meant trouble. At the moment though, anywhere would be better than where they were.

"Shadow," Johnny raised one hand and the spectral blob of darkness detached from beneath the bike, taking on a vaguely humanoid shape with the legs tapering off into an indistinct blurb. Johnny pointed ahead of them. "Door."

The Shadow hissed once in acknowledgment, then streaked off toward the doors. It reached the nearest one and threw it open.

With the horde of cop-souls gaining, there was no time to check where it came out. Johnny Thirteen just pointed his bike at it and gunned the engine.

DP-DP-DP

By the time they reached the school, Tucker had gone through two rounds of the K-I-S-S-I-N-G song, speculated on baby names, and performed a small dramatic reenactment of Danny and Sam's future wedding (speaking Sam's lines in broken falsetto, of course). He had also plucked Sam's last nerve.

"Would you knock it off!" She shouted, smacking him on the back of the head. "It was just a diversion so Amity's Ghosthunter amateur hour wouldn't ask too many questions."

Tucker snorted. "So it was _just_ to get Jazz and Val off the scent?"

"Yes."

"And absolutely nothing else?"

"Yes."

"And you totally enjoyed it."

"Ye—Tucker!"

The techno-geek gave her a Cheshire grin. "I'm just sayin': if it was 'just' a diversion, you wouldn't be all flustered."

"Well I am not flustered and it _was_ just a diversion, okay?" Sam gave him a look that had him seeing his tombstone in her eyes. "So can we stop talking about it?"

"Sure. But I'm not the one you should be worried about. After all, I'm not a gossip—heck, I've only got you and Danny to gossip to."

A bad feeling started rolling in Sam's stomach. "B-but Jazz wouldn't. And Valerie is one of the popular kids. They've got way more vapid things to occupy their time with. I mean Paulina makes it clear constantly that I'm nobody. For the first time, I'm really, really happy about that fact."

Tucker shook his head. "Do we even go to the same school?" He grabbed the door to the entrance and pulled it open.

The first thing they saw was Dash wearing a shirt with a photo-shopped image of Sam and Danny enclosed in a pink heart. He also had a baseball cap on with 'DF x SM' emblazoned on it, and he was carrying a tray like those used by ballpark vendors. The tray had more of the same T-shirt folded atop it, as well as caps, mugs and tiny plush Sam and Danny dolls.

"Get yer geek love merchandise folks!" the jock was calling as he trundled down the hall. "Living proof that there's no depth of loserdom or height of freakiness where there's no hope!" Half the students in the halls had at least a shirt.

"Yep," Tucker said smugly, "It's kind of like sharks with blood in the water, really. Except instead of blood, it's humiliation."

Sam's eye twitched. "How did they even get all this done on a _Sunday_?!"

"Funny thing." Kwan, also hawking the embarrassing swag, had overheard them as he emerged from an adjacent hall. "We were at the Ember concert a few weeks ago, and I found all these band shirts. When Paulina suggested we make shirts, _I _remembered that the tags said they did custom orders."

Another twitch. Sam really wanted to melt into the ground right now. Imagine: hoisted by her own petard.

Kwan remained completely oblivious to both the purpose of the swag and Sam's current mood. "But hey, since it's you and your boyfriend on 'em, the least we could do is give you a free one." Before she could react, the big jock had pulled a shirt on over her usual goth attire.

He smiled jovially at her. "Hey, looks good on, ya!" he said before heading off down the hall.

By now, Sam was shaking with humiliation mixed with rage. "Oh what I wouldn't give for something to get the attention off me right about now." she said through gritted teeth.

Just down the hall, a girl had just opened her locker when a burst of green light issued forth. She dove aside just as a motorcycle came roaring out of the locker, followed by a huge, black shadow.

"What out for the wall, Johnny!" a female voice shouted. Rubber squealed as the driver tried to turn, but he'd over-corrected at too high a speed and lay the bike down. Green sparks flew as the bike skidded up to, then through the wall the biker had been trying to avoid.

Accordingly, the entire student body panicked because green energy and things flying through walls meant 'ghost'.

As a thundering herd of students fled down the first hallway they could find, Sam couldn't help but smile and let out a sigh of relief. "Chalk one up for the most haunted town in America. With that, she pulled off the shirt and tossed it aside. From her purse, she retrieved her ecto-saber. "Ready to kick some ghost, Tuck?"

Tucker seemed just as happy to see the ghosts as she was. "Oh, you better believe it!" Then he pulled up his shirt to reveal that he was wearing the Ghost Battlin' Belt.

Sam's eyes widened. "Tucker! That's Danny's."

"Yeah, and Danny's home sick. It's not like it's DNA coded or anything."

"Yeah, but..." Sam started.

"Besides, this isn't the first time I've used the belt. The only reason it's not Tucker Phantom is because Danny's the one with the hero complex—I just like to joyride now and then. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He rested a hand on the dial. "Now _I_ am go for ghosts."

The turned the dial and just like with Danny, the belt released a flow of ectoplasm that encompassed him and transformed into a costume. Unlike Danny, however, this was an entirely different costume. In place of the black jumpsuit, Tucker was encased in a rigid, hunter green exoskeleton with black outlining patterns that seemed to correspond to muscle groups. The belt remained black, but took the appearance of a tactical harness that both encircled his waist and send on strap over his shoulder. Two short, black blades extended from the back of each wrist, and his head was covered by a helmet with a black visor.

"Aw yeah." Tucker said looking down at his armored self.

Sam folded her arms, unimpressed. "Now _you're_ saying 'go for ghosts'? And what's with the armor? You look nothing like Danny does when he uses it."

Tucker shrugged. "I figured if I was going to play substitute Phantom, I should act the part. And as for the look: ectoplasm is weird. Danny's mom wrote this whole paper about how it's 'psycho-reactive' and is affected by people's thoughts and emotions. If you put on the belt, you'd look different too."

A crash sounded from the band room, interrupting the discussion.

"Oh yeah, ghost fighting." said Tucker. "Let's go."

DP-DP-DP

"You idiot!" Kitty shouted, throwing a tuba at Johnny who dodged behind a row of chairs. "You know where we are? Because I do! This is that creep-o fifties school I got trapped in two years ago when that Skulker guy chased us off his island! It took me forever to get out of there!"

"Hey, but it's better than ghost jail right, babe?" Johnny ventured.

"They made me wear a poodle skirt!" Kitty screeched, hurling a cello at him.

One of the doors into the classroom was kicked in and Valerie Grey leapt in, ecto-pistols akimbo. "Freeze, ghosts!"

At the same time, Tucker kicked in the opposite door, blades on his wrists charged with energy. "Alright, time for you to go back to the Ghost Zone!"

Johnny and Kitty blinked at one another, then glared at the intruding ghost hunters. "Do you mind!" they chorused. "We're having a conversation here!"

There was an awkward moment of silence. Neither Valerie, nor Tucker had ever been told off by a ghost like that, nor had they expected there to be two.

It was enough time for the ghostly couple to get a grip on the situation.

"Hey, I guess this is the Human Zone and _not_ that stuck up phantom high school after all." said Kitty. "Oh Johnny, you're the best!" A moment's more thought brought something more important to mind. "...except they're pointing anti-ghost guns at us. Johnny!"

"You got it, sweetcakes." said Johnny. "Shadow: ceiling."

His shadow pealed itself off the floor and resumed the bloby form it adopted earlier before flying up into the ceiling. A moment later, ever single panel up there shook violently and came loose, showering down on top of the two ghosthunters while Johnny and Kitty phased through them.

"Looks like the welcome wagon's not too friendly here babe." said Johnny. "Whadda ya say we find some place to hide out for a while?"

"I'm with you, Johnny!" Kitty agreed and the pair exited through the wall.

Seconds later, both Tucker and Valerie both fought their way clear of the rubble. Valerie was the first to get her bearings again. "Where'd they go?" She demanded, "And who the heck are you?"

"Uh... the Ghost...inator." Tucker said lamely. "A high tech ghost hunter. Amity Park _is_ the most haunted town in America don't you know."

Valerie gave him a dubious look. "Yeah, well Amity is me and my friend's territory now, so you can beat it." After a beat, she looked around. "Wait. Where is Jazz anyway?"

"Huh." said Tucker, looking back out into the hall behind him. "For that matter, where's..."

DP-DP-DP

Sam thought the day reached a low point with the t-shirts. She was wrong.

"All I'm saying is that as Danny's sister, I should not be learning about this kind of thing the way I did." Jazz, a Fenton Bazooka slung across her back, had stopped Sam on their respective ways to the band room to deliver her two cents on what she and Val had witnessed.

"...And honestly? I expect this kind of thing from Danny; he never wants to open up. But I thought you would understand what a big step this is. And at this age, it's a step that might require advice that you should know I'm more than happy to give."

Sam resisted the urge to demand to know when the last time Jazz had kissed someone, seeing as she'd never heard anything about the older girl dating. But all she wanted was for the conversation to end.

"So how long have you two been dating anyway? The Fall Formal?"

The question made Sam long to have Danny's cold. Even though the virus had reduced his mental contribution to the link to a little ball of misery, it would have been preferable to this. "Um... isn't there a ghost you're supposed to be fighting?"

Jazz's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! Okay, don't think we're done here, but I've got to go!" With that, she dashed off down the hall.

She didn't get far, however, before a ghostly blur emerged from the nearby door to a janitor's closet and flew into her. A ghostly glow briefly overtook her and her eyes flashed red before fading to normal, a mildly sultry smile that was uncharacteristic of Jazz coming to her lips.

Looking down at herself, she wrinkled her nose disdainfully at her wardrobe, then ran a hand through her auburn hair. "Eh, she'll have to do."

Once her self-inspection was done, she went back to the closet and threw the door open. "Whadda ya think of the new body, Johnny?"

From the closet stepped Kwan, he eyes flashing briefly red. "Baby, I'm diggin' it."

DP-DP-DP

**AN:** Greetings again. I have emerged from the place of spells and faeries!

Quite a bit to talk about here, so let's dive in:

When I was first roughing out this story, Dora the Dragon Ghost was in it as a B plot. She was going to be the one that knew what door led to Casper High and would spend the episode tripping people's ghost alarms and trying to get with the 'in' crowd. In the end, the kiss B plot too precedence and Dora will have to wait.

And as for the kiss... It's kind of a cliché that this sort of thing leave those involved in the classic 'oh, do they like me back in that way?/what are my real feelings?' scenario, and that's fine. But having been there when I was in middle school, there's a stage most writers miss: crippling awkwardness.

Seeing as Casper High is a place where all teen anxieties are magnified to hyperbolic proportions (Really, the bullies run wild and free, the cool kids literally have a club with perks, and even the teachers will point and laugh at you when you're embarrassed), I couldn't imagine this not happening given that Valerie has no reason not to gossip about it here.

Then we have the Ghostinator. Reviewers, it is in your power to come up with the name Tuck will give this once he's not on the spot. In any event, this idea came very early in developing the series. Since TPR!Danny's powers come from a machine instead of halfa powers, there's nothing stopping other people from using it.

The idea that it looks different on everyone is actually a future plot point which I won't give away here. What I will say is that yes, Creepy!Sam in the title card is the form Sam gets when she puts on the belt. Given her track record with ghost tech (the Fenton phones messed up her powers, touching Danny while he was powering up shocked her), she probably should know better than to put it on.

Finally, Kitty and Johnny 13. I love these two, but it was hard coming up with an episode for them. Originally, every ghost Danny ran into was going to be working for Vlad or Walker. These two... I just don't see it. It also lets me have some non-myth arc villains for Tucker and Sam to fight while Danny is sidelined.

Speaking of Danny: should we see him at all in this episode, or is it funnier if he doesn't show up at all?

Anyway, I may get another chapter up next week (I'm launching the third book in my Rune Breaker original series and had no new writing due), but it may be the next chapter in Menace in Mexico City. We'll see how it goes.

And now for the part you've been waiting for:

**Next Chapter:**

**Episode 06 – The Substitute Phantoms –** Kitty and Johnny quickly start making trouble in Jazz and Kwan's lives while Tucker and Sam try to stop them _and_ prevent Johnny's Shadow from giving everyone a run of bad luck! Meanwhile, Sam is distressed to find out just how far the rumor mill extends! All this and more in the next episode of... The Phantom Reboot!


End file.
